Are women less aggressive? What do simulated war games say about the true nature of conflict and the male vs. female response to disputes?

Are women less physically aggressive? According to Rose McDermott, Professor of Political Science at Brown University and former Women and Public Policy Program Fellow, there may be sufficient evidence to uphold this claim. WAPPP welcomed Professor McDermott back on September 17 as a presenter for its Gender and Security research seminar. The talk entitled “Sex Differences in Aggression in Simulated War Games” highlighted her latest research findings on the biological differences in decision making between women and men during times of conflict.

Rose McDermott, Professor of Political Science at Brown University and former Women and Public Policy Program Fellow Photo by Nicole Carter Quinn

McDermott developed a study on decisions in a conflict situation using computer simulated war games that investigated biological differences in aggression. In the lab, McDermott examined the difference in response between  male and female players in their interactions and levels of aggression and in their allocation of money to cash, battalions, or industry. She measured hormone levels in the participants, including testosterone levels. Her research found that genetic disposition and hormone levels had an effect on the actions taken by players during war-like game simulation. For example, players with higher levels of testosterone (typically young males and post-menopausal females) acted and communicated in a manner more hostile than players with relatively  lower testosterone levels (young females and older males).

By testing testosterone levels, McDermott was able to identify characteristic war-like behavior and its relation to sex differences. Measuring for aggression, hostility, competitiveness, trustworthiness, intelligence and skill, McDermott found that men, overall, are more aggressive than women both when unprovoked or in retaliation mode.

Are men more narcissistic? According to McDermott, men have a greater sense of positive illusion than women. Take, for example, the self rating of likelihood of success in the war simulation: male participants over-rated their performance outcome, while female participants did not. McDermott finds, however, that there is no relation between self-ranking and actual performance, though positive illusion in terms of optimism has a negative effect on victory. McDermott’s study finds that optimism is an underlying motivator in conflict and that overconfidence in the estimates of success increases the chances of war and the likelihood of being defeated.

In McDermott's lab experiment, participants were randomly assigned to dyads and went through the simulation without knowing who they were playing against. McDermott found that men who played against men were most likely to go to war, while women who played against women were least likely, with mixed sex dyads varying in between.

FURTHER READING

Testosterone and Aggression in a Simulated Crisis Game [pdf]