Girls Wired To Fear Dangerous Animals 224
Foot-in-Mouth writes "New Scientist reports that girls are more "primed" to fear spiders and snakes, compared to boys. Infant boys and girls were shown pairs of images, a fearful and a happy object (such as a spider and a flower), measuring the boys' and girls' dwell times on the images. And in another similar test, normally happy objects (such as a flower) were given a fearful face and fearful objects were given a happy face. The results of these two tests suggested to the researcher that girls are not wired to fear spiders, for example, but rather girls are wired to more quickly learn to fear dangerous animals.
The researcher, David Rakison at CMU, 'attributes the difference to behavioural differences between men and women among our hunter-gatherer ancestors. An aversion to spiders may help women avoid dangerous animals, but in men evolution seems to have favoured more risk-taking behaviour for successful hunting.'
This reminds one of men's obsession with video games. Will game designers use this information to tweak video games for gender, either to make the games more or less frightening?"
Dangerous animals (Score:5, Funny)
i.e. mice
What about the most dreaded animal of all? (Score:2, Funny)
Trollus Slashdottus?
Video Game Changes (Score:5, Funny)
Will game designers use this information to tweak video games for gender, either to make the games more or less frightening?
Tweak video games for gender? You mean like Sims 4 with the man-eating toilet seat?
Wow. I just freaked myself out.
Re:Nature vs nurture. (Score:3, Funny)
What if you had HUNDREDS of scientists objectively judging facial expressions of HUNDREDS of infants?
Evolutionary origins of gender stereotypes (Score:5, Funny)
British scientists have uncovered why little girls like pink toys [today.com]. "Women are hardwired to like pink," says Professor Gene Hunt of the University of Metro, "because their cavewoman foremothers spent their days gathering red leaves and berries amongst the trees." Later, women needed to notice red-faced babies and blushing boyfriends. Men are attracted to blue because of the colour of the sky as seen when hunting.
Women are also predisposed to backstab one another in the workplace and cry in the boardroom, just like the social structures in the cave population as extrapolated from two bone needles. Being too successful will increase women's testosterone, giving them hairy nipples and male-pattern baldness. Females joining the hunt may also explain the end of the Neanderthals.
IQ test studies show that women have lower IQs on average than men, undoubtedly from lesser need for environmental variation while taking care of the cave. Tests on little boys prove that testosterone correlates with a sense of humour, so women naturally can't take a joke. Housework has been shown to cut the risk of several fatal diseases, and dressing up nicely around the house is psychologically healthy as it uses the Homo erectus clan maintenance abilities of the female of the tribe.
Men are naturally predisposed to sleep with as many women as possible, as proven by lions, whereas women are naturally predisposed to stay loyal to their man and their spawn. Women who sleep around are at increased risk of parasites and death, as proven by cheetahs, who are a pack of catty sluts.
In a final crowning achievement, the team has shown that daily fellatio greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer. Furthermore, regular sexual intercourse is essential to feminine health, but may be injurious if prolonged for more than two minutes or conducted while the man is sober.
"In conclusion," says Professor Hunt, "all of this is top-notch science that you can absolutely rely on. Now get your knickers back on and make me a cuppa."
Re:mice? (Score:5, Funny)
Actually I've noticed a HUMAN aversion to mice. A couple of mice in a room will often make a 250lb flanel-wearing truck driver hop up on the table to get away.
I'll admit, they freak me out too. I went into the shed in my back yard to clean up a good while back. I had some scraps of carpet stashed in there that were left over from when I'd built a speaker box for my car. I picked up the pile and mice - dozens of them, just scattered everywhere. I'll admit, I shrieked like a girl and ran for mah life . . .
Re:mice? (Score:5, Funny)
I always thought the mice thing was a construction of television, much like the toilet seat wars. I've never once seen a girl who reacts to a mouse with anything other than "Awwwwwwwwwwww, look at the mouse".
I've seen a girl jump on a chair and shriek when a mouse scurried through the room. I've also been berated for leaving the toilet seat in the wrong configuration. Your anecdotal experience completely goes against my anecdotal experience, and guess whose anecdotal experience I tend to trust more?
Re:Girls can be fun (Score:5, Funny)
Congratulations, you've just told us what every little boy already knew.
The main attraction of toads, frogs, worms, and bugs is the fascinating effect they have on girls.
Re:Dangerous animals (Score:5, Funny)
Another possibility (not saying yours is wrong, but this "correction", is probably another factor).
[..] It makes sense evolutionarily speaking. Boys grow to be men and need to be able to not be afraid (or at least keep that fear in check) while doing stupid but impressive things to show potential mates that they are strong. [...]
Re:Dangerous animals? (Score:3, Funny)
That may be; however, I've *trained* women to fear ME.
Bukakekekekeke
Re:Dangerous animals? (Score:5, Funny)
Women are wired to fear ME.
Hey, my mom's first laptop had ME installed on it - and I'd say fear was a completely reasonable reaction.
Re:Gender discrimination? Say it ain't so. (Score:2, Funny)
I don't know but you certainly came off creepy as all hell in that post.
Re:mice? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh yeah? Well I've seen an NFL linebacker jump five feet straight up when he saw a mouse. Then a woman grabbed it with her bare hand and bit off its head. Then she looked right at me and said "That's what'll happen to you if you leave the seat up again."
guess whose anecdotal experience I tend to trust more?
Probably not the anecdotal experience that was obviously just made up... for shame.
Re:Dangerous animals (Score:3, Funny)
Damn, just one bad day and no one ever lets you forget.
Re:mice? (Score:5, Funny)
True that! It doesn't really matter if some other women are afraid of mice or not or if they don't care about toilet seats if the one you're with threatens to cut your junk off in your sleep if they fall into the toilet, or if you look at other women, or try to leave. (please help).
Re:Dangerous animals? (Score:3, Funny)
Women are wired to fear ME.
Hey, my mom's first laptop had ME installed on it
My Mom's laptop had ME and My siblings installed on it. One by one, we were uninstalled at birth.
Re:mice? (Score:3, Funny)
Send him a link to this article.
Re:mice? (Score:3, Funny)