by Michael D. Anestis, M.S.
I'm a big fan of research that looks into aspects of our personalities that make us more or less likely to engage in particular types of behaviors. This form of research gives us clues regarding the mechanisms driving our decision making and offers clues regarding the most effective ways to intervene when behaviors become a problem or to prevent the problems in the first place. A common misconception many people have when they hear about this type of work is the belief that scientists are proclaiming that certain individuals are fated to end up a certain way or that they had no control over their decision making. In reality, this could not be further from the truth. All this type of research is saying is that, to some degree, we are genetically predisposed towards seeing value in particular forms of behaviors. For instance, individuals with high levels of negative urgency or low levels of distress tolerance, both of which we have discussed at length on PBB, see great value in behaviors that allow them to immediately diminish the intensity of negative emotions. For them, removing such feeling is of such high value that any behavior capable of immediately offering that outcome (e.g., non-suicidal self-injury, binge eating and purging) will become substantially more likely, regardless of the long term consequences. For other individuals, an entirely different set of incentives and appraisals are in play and, as such, a different constellation of behaviors in a completely disparate group of contexts are likely.
Today, I would like to discuss a study conducted by Jessica Fulton, David Marcus, and Kathleen Payne of the University of Southern Mississippi (woohoo for Hattiesburg!) that touches on a topic directly relevant to the above discussion. The study, published in the most recent issue of Personality and Individual Differences (2010), looks at the role of different components of psychopathy in risky sexual behavior (RSB) for both men and women. We have discussed psychopathy at length as well and I encourage you to click here for a description of what that idea entails. RSB refers to any behavior that increases the likelihood of harmful outcomes associated with sexual contact. Such outcomes include contraction of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies and such behaviors include having multiple partners, having unprotected sex, and having casual sex with strangers.
In a sample of 511 undergraduate, the authors found the relationship between psychopathy and RSBs is different for men versus women. Even when they controlled for sensation seeking - the tendency to seek out activities that involve an element of risk or thrill - Factor 2 of psychopathy, which involves impulsivity, irresponsibility, and aggression, predicted RSBs in both men and women. In other words, regardless of your sex, on average, the greater degree to which you exhibit components of Factor 2 psychopathy, the more often you will engage in RSBs. Factor 1 of psychopathy, on the other hand, which involves superficial charm, shallow emotions, pathological lying, and a lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse, only predicted RSBs in men.
The authors anticipated that the data would follow this pattern. Factor 2, they argued, would increase the opportunity for RSBs regardless of whether an individual is a man or a woman. The more opportunities an individual has, the greater the odds that person will engage in the behavior. Factor 1, however, paints a more complicated picture. Men with the traits that characterize Factor 1, the authors argued, will be socially dominant and likely to pursue sexual gratification in whatever way possible. Women with these traits, on the other hand, will also be socially dominant, but because these traits also share quite a bit with self-esteem, would also be equipped to refuse the efforts of others to make them engage in RSBs. As a parallel, they noted that Tevendale, Lightfoot, and Slocum (2009) found that high self-esteem predicted low levels of RSBs in female homeless youth but was unrelated to RSBs in male homeless youth. It seems that a fearless demeanor accompanied by a positive self-view and a willingness to manipulate others may lead men to view the world and engage with it in one way while women with those same traits might respond entirely differently.
Now, keep in mind that results like these do not apply to every single man or woman. They represent general trends - our understanding of probability - and that there is variability in any relationship. Also, keep in mind that, because this study involved only one time point, self-report questionnaires, and an undergraduate population, the work is not perfect. Still, the information gathered through this work is useful and informative and helps us not only understand RSBs in general, but also why men and women might approach such behaviors differently.
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If you would like to learn more about this or other topics discussed on PBB, please consult our online store for scientifically-based psychological resources.
Mike Anestis is a doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology department at Florida State University and an incoming resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
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