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Men Better Suited for War, Research Finds
Reuters ^ | Friday, Sept. 8, 2006 12:28 a.m. EDT | Reuters

Posted on 09/08/2006 12:52:18 PM PDT by andyk

Men may have developed a psychology that makes them particularly able to engage in wars, a scientist said on Friday.

New research has shown that men bond together and cooperate well in the face of adversity to protect their interests more than women, which could explain why war is almost exclusively a male business, according to Professor Mark van Vugt of the University of Kent in southern England.

"Men respond more strongly to outward threats, we've labelled that the 'man warrior effect'," he told the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.

"Men are more likely to support a country going to war. Men are more likely sign up for the military and men are more likely to lead groups in more autocratic, militaristic ways than women," he added.

Van Vugt said the finding is consistent with results from different behavioural science disciplines.

In experiments with 300 university men and women students, Van Vugt and his team gave the volunteers small sums of money which they could either keep or invest in a common fund that would be doubled and equally divided. None of the students knew what the others were doing.

Both sexes cooperated in investing in the fund. But when the groups were told they were competing against other universities, the males were more eager to invest rather than keep their money while the number of women contributing remained the same.

"We all know males are more aggressive than females," Van Vugt said, adding that co-operation is needed to establish institutions and governments and to wage wars.

"Male co-operation is a double-edged sword," he added.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: battleofwatlingst; boudicca; duh; hllary; iceni; males; menandwomendifferent; romanempire; wowwhatfinding
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To: Spktyr

I disagree. We'd still have just as many wars, they'd just be different in nature.

Women can be just as agressive and are sometimes far more vicious.. Well I only agree with your statement when it comes to a troop of women with a bad case of PMS then she will fight the hardest especially if the enemy has Chocolate in thier arsenal....


61 posted on 09/08/2006 1:12:14 PM PDT by Judy Jetsun
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To: andyk

I've evolved even further into the "Master of the Remote"


62 posted on 09/08/2006 1:12:28 PM PDT by nevergore (“It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.”)
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To: dinoparty
Women from other countries have been fighting in combat for hundreds of years. Ludmilla Pavlichenko, a Russian sniper during WWII, has 309 German kills to her credit.
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/women20.html
63 posted on 09/08/2006 1:12:42 PM PDT by Khuey (Political correctness is ALWAYS having to say you're sorry!)
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To: najida

"And I'd way rather do yard work than housework-- yuk!"

I lose my fondness for working in the yard when the temps are in the high nineties, the humidity and the gnats are so thick you could cut them with a knife, and heavy dew prevents mowing in the morning, before it gets so hot. If it were more like May or October all summer long, it would be a joy instead of a chore.


64 posted on 09/08/2006 1:12:47 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Spktyr

You left out the part about killing your own species. Animals don't usually do this.


65 posted on 09/08/2006 1:13:30 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: bordergal

"I dispute the study conclusions based on this story...."

He probably wouldn't clean up the mess he made.


66 posted on 09/08/2006 1:13:45 PM PDT by driftdiver
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To: brwnsuga
The women (a number of them,at least),OTOH,were weeping and carrying on I'd be weeping too if they woke me up at 4am and wouldn't let me wear my make-up and acrylic nails. I've heard horror stories about not being able to really get your hair done when your at boot camp.... nuh uh... not me, brother! Cammies don't always flatter every figure either.I heard that their wasn't any curtains on the windows of the barracks, {GASP} that means they would have to get up at the crack of Dawn! OH! THE HUMANITY!
67 posted on 09/08/2006 1:15:27 PM PDT by ABN 505
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To: RegulatorCountry

I agree,
starting about now through April, it's cool enough I can work outside.....

After that, it's just mow the grass in the evenings and sit in the wading pool.


68 posted on 09/08/2006 1:15:27 PM PDT by najida (The internet is for kids grown up-- Where else could you have 10,000 imaginary friends?)
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To: CobaltBlue

Not true. Chimpanzees have been observed conducting total warfare on other tribes of chimps; lions will kill other lions for dominance.

It is true that non-primates don't seem to conduct total warfare against another group of the same species, but that doesn't mean that individuals don't kill each other.


69 posted on 09/08/2006 1:15:31 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Spktyr

Because the women are watching.


T. E. Lawrence's answer to why men go to war.


70 posted on 09/08/2006 1:15:44 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: brwnsuga
I'd be weeping too if they woke me up at 4am and wouldn't let me wear my make-up and acrylic nails. I've heard horror stories about not being able to really get your hair done when your at boot camp...

Don't know if you ever served in the military but I did (Army).In BCT,you're sleep deprived from Day One.You're up at "Oh,Four Thirty" and,if you're lucky,you're asleep at 2300.Every muscle and joint in your body hurts so much that they feel like they're on fire.I could go on,but won't.

And unless I'm mistaken,Marine recruit training is even worse.

The fact that these women were weeping is,IMO,completely normal and reasonable for women.It doesn't make women inferior to men...just basically different.And less well suited for combat and combat-like situations.

71 posted on 09/08/2006 1:16:09 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("An empty limousine pulled up and Hillary Clinton got out")
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To: Judy Jetsun

The Molly Yard Brigade.


72 posted on 09/08/2006 1:19:37 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Judy Jetsun

Case in point:

When men fight men, they generally try to simply batter their opponents into submission. When women fight, they claw each other, they bite, they scratch, they try to gouge out eyes, they try to rip each other apart (which is why female human combats are sometimes called "catfights"). There's a lot of reasons for this, some psychological, some physical.


73 posted on 09/08/2006 1:19:48 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: andyk

Seriously, I'm 6'3" 250 pounds and have completed Ironman triathlons. When I was in my 20's I could run a sub-eleven second 100. I doubt many women can say the same.

74 posted on 09/08/2006 1:19:53 PM PDT by oldleft
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To: ABN 505

I heard that their wasn't any curtains on the windows of the barracks, {GASP} that means they would have to get up at the crack of Dawn! OH! THE HUMANITY!

WHAT!? Its a wonder they get any recruits. This sister couldn't do it.


75 posted on 09/08/2006 1:20:39 PM PDT by brwnsuga
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To: longtermmemmory

Yes and these same women would appreciate a "dangerous" man being there to protect them should the need arise no matter how much they may deny it. We are what we are and so are men. Thank God.


76 posted on 09/08/2006 1:20:41 PM PDT by D1X1E
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To: andyk

I think this is the funniest line in the whole article:

"Men may have developed a psychology that makes them particularly able to engage in wars ... ."

Note the not-so-subtle reference to the Darwin effect: "may have developed,"

excluding any reference to genetic traits, physiological differences in the way GOD wired men and women.


77 posted on 09/08/2006 1:21:15 PM PDT by GretchenM (What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Please meet my friend, Jesus.)
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To: driftdiver

Then the punishment was just....:)


78 posted on 09/08/2006 1:24:23 PM PDT by bordergal (John)
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To: andyk

79 posted on 09/08/2006 1:24:27 PM PDT by Gritty (The difference between women’s rights and women’s illusions is a Smith and Wesson-Fjordman)
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To: andyk
And how many years did he go to school in order to be able to figure that one out?
80 posted on 09/08/2006 1:24:36 PM PDT by navyblue (Semper ubi sub ubi)
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