Societies where men are in the majority are ‘more stable’ because they keep negative emotions in check to attract women, research suggests
- Psychologists have looked into the dynamics of a majority male presence
- Research finds men take more risks when outnumbered by women in a group
- When women are the majority men more likely to adopt behaviour like casual sex
- Experts now believe whichever sex is the majority faces more competition when finding partners
Societies in which men are the majority are more stable – as they are on their best behaviour to impress potential partners, psychologists claim.
Researchers found that when women outnumber men, the men become more competitive, take more risks and act more violently to attract the opposite sex.
But when men are in the majority this pattern reverses. The American research suggests that when women are in short supply, men are more likely to become doting husbands and fathers to keep relationships afloat.
Societies in which men are the majority are more stable – as they are on their best behaviour to impress potential partners, it has been claimed by psychologists
And when women are in the majority, they are more likely to adopt behaviour typically associated with men – such as casual sex.
Experts believe whichever sex is the majority faces more competition when finding partners. This alters behaviour, with both sexes shifting their mating strategies.
Florida State University Professor of psychology Jon Maner said: ‘When men outnumber women in a given ecology, intuition might suggest that rates of violent crime would skyrocket, marriages would destabilise and many children would be born out of wedlock.
‘Intriguingly, the opposite has been observed.’ The study, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, was based on a review and analysis of previous work by Dr Maner and others.