(no subject)

[confuseacat]

Studies like this one shouldn't be allowed to make front page news. It had a grand total of 46 participants, which is hardly any better than experiments I've run in freshmen psych classes. The study concludes that men want hot women, which contradicts a bunch of far larger well conducted studies. Hot men want hot women, but in general people tend to look for someone around the same level of attractiveness as they think they are. The study found this to be true for women, though.

*grump*

I guess I'm just annoyed because an article that reinforces the idea that men are superficial is considered popular reading. I'm probably less annoyed by the fact that the study is flawed.

Comments

[the-olive.livejournal.com]

The article avoids this, but it's also super common for them to jump to the conclusion that a given gender-segregated trait is inborn. Like, men allow hotness to sway their judgment more than women? It must be entirely because of genetics! There is absolutely no possible way that society's messages about gender ould possibly have influenced that at all! Nope. Could not happen. The cavemen spread their seed amongst many cavewomen, and that's why men can be players and women shouldn't sleep around, the end good night. Let's report this study because it reinforces the stereotypes that we are so very comfortable with.

I think anyone with a good science background goes a little batty every time an article is written about a study of almost any sort- they always lack the level of detail and cross-researching needed to evaluate whether the study is good. Margins of error? Comparison with other, similar works? Sources of funding? Numbers? Please, please numbers?

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

46 participants...and it made the front page. ::shakes head:: Standards have drastically fallen when it comes to psychological studies, apparently.

I think I'm bothered mostly for the same reasons you are, though. Why widen the perceived gap by promoting the idea that men are superficial, or women are materialistic, or anything like that? All it does is help to lower people's general respect for and trust of one another.