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This series has looked at a variety of potential scapegoats for the current financial crisis. None could be blamed entirely for the situation in which we find ourselves, the argument could be made that each agency or program bore some responsibility. The same argument could be made for the common man and his instincts to mate and make babies.
Men in the ancestral environment were valued if they were good providers,” says Daniel Kruger, an assistant research scientist in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, who theorizes that not only do men overspend when trying to attract a mate, they are predisposed by evolution to do so. “Now we have this new consumer culture, so basically, we show our potential through the consumer goods we purchase, rather than being a good hunter or providing protection.”
Kruger put his theory to the test among a community of 18 to 45 year-old men and women. What he discovered was that financial consumption was directly related to future mating intentions and past mating intentions and past mating success for men…but not women. That’s right, according to the study, “Male Financial Consumption is Associated with Higher Mating Intentions and Mating Success”, published in the online journal Evolutionary Psychology, men with higher mating intentions may maximize their economic displays and, thanks to easily available credit, spend beyond their capacity to repay. These same men may also seek out and have a greater number of sexual partners.
In fact, financial consumption was the only factor Kruger found that predicted how many partners men wanted in the next five years as well as how many they had during the past five years. Not even marital status was as good a predictor. The study indicates that the men with the riskiest financial strategies have twice the number of partners as those with conservative strategies over the same periods of time.
It gives an ultimate explanation for why we feel we have to keep up with the Joneses. Especially for guys, our position in the social hierarchy is based on our resources,” Kruger stated. “Economic success has traditionally been good for reproductive success, so men have an incentive to show that they are doing well economically.”
Of course, all men can’t be blamed for the entire financial crisis nor can the entire meltdown be laid exclusively at the feet of men. Let’s face it, women must at least appreciate the overspending or it wouldn’t be a successful tactic. On the other hand, maybe potential employers should start asking men about what their family plans are before putting them in charge of budgets or investments.
It is partially a result of our economic system and recent financial policies, but I really do think that our evolved mating strategies have an influence. Our competition for economic displays drives our consumer economy and culture of affluence,” said Kruger. “In terms of the current mortgage crisis, the findings suggest that one of the reasons we overextend ourselves is the we’re basically in a status race. We have expectations that spiral upward as people make more money and everyone wants to show they are better than average.”
Still, blaming men who engage in financially risky behavior like overspending or living on credit has a certain logic, and from a woman’s perspective, appeal. Many of the names in the headlines, from former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain whose behavior has been compared to Marie Antoinette’s to Bank of America Corp.’s Kenneth Lewis who has gone from golden boy to something considerably less, are men. But so are some of the heroes like whistle-blower Harry Markopolos. Further, not all of the names in the headlines are male. There is Linda Thomsen, enforcement director at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whose role in allowing Bernie Madoff’s alledged Ponzi scheme to continue as long as it did was on display on Capitol Hill this week and others. At the end of the day, we are left with the same moral: no one scapegoat is entirely to blame, not even mating men. It may be something to bear in mind, however, as we consider the individuals selected to get us out of this mess.
Last 3 posts by Jay Hammond
- Mortgage modification law threatens right to representation in California - July 15th, 2009
- How Cities & States are coping with foreclosure - July 10th, 2009
- Freddie Mac educates borrowers via YouTube - July 9th, 2009
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