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Benenson JF, Markovits H. Married women with children experience greater intrasexual competition than their male counterparts. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4498. [PMID: 36934175 PMCID: PMC10024730 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31816-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Human males are considered to be more competitive than females. However, females must also compete for resources necessary for their own and their offsprings' survival. Since females use more indirect forms of competition than males, comparing observable forms of competition may be misleading. One critical driver of competition is resource asymmetry. Since competition occurs primarily within sex, reactions to resource asymmetry with same-sex peers should provide an important measure of competitiveness. We asked 596 married participants, 25-45 years of age with at least one child from three different countries to evaluate how same-sex individuals they know would react to a target individual who had a valuable resource that the same-sex individuals did not have. Half the participants evaluated reactions to same-sex targets, while the other half evaluated reactions to other-sex targets. Participants reported that women would react more negatively than men to resource asymmetry with same-sex targets, but not other-sex targets. These results suggest that women may be even more competitive than men in contexts when important resources related to reproductive success are at stake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joyce F Benenson
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, USA.
| | - Henry Markovits
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, H3C 3P8, Canada
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2
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Laudicina NM, Cartmill M. Clavicle length and shoulder breadth in hominoid evolution. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 36594678 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
For a given body mass, hominoids have longer clavicles than typical monkeys, reflecting the lateral reorientation of the hominoid glenoid. Relative length of the clavicle varies among hominoids, with orangutans having longer clavicles than expected for body mass and gorillas and chimpanzees having shorter clavicles than expected. Modern humans conform to the general hominoid distribution, but Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens have longer clavicles than expected for their size and exhibit marked positive allometry in clavicle length. Relative to clavicle length, adult and newborn humans have broader shoulders (biacromial breadths) than comparable apes, because the reduced elevation of the human shoulder swings the acromion laterally downward away from the head. Since broadened shoulders yield an increased risk of maternal and neonatal injury and/or death from shoulder dystocia during birth, we might expect hominins to manifest trends toward reduction in shoulder breadth and clavicle length. They do not, presumably because of countering selection pressures favoring a long clavicle in the adults. The marked sexual dimorphism seen in patterns of clavicular growth and static adult allometry in humans suggests that those selection pressures have disproportionately affected the males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Laudicina
- Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matt Cartmill
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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3
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Browne KR. The disjunction between evolutionary psychology and sex-discrimination law and policy. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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4
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Gromeier M, Schack T, Koester D. Effects of Age and Expertise on Mental Representation of the Throwing Movement Among 6- to 16-Year-Olds. Front Psychol 2022; 13:799316. [PMID: 35496147 PMCID: PMC9039452 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.799316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this article was to assess the development of mental representation of the overhead throwing movement as a function of age and expertise. The mental representational structure of the overhead throwing movement was measured using the Structural Dimensional Analysis-Motoric (SDA-M) method that reflects the organization of basic action concepts (BACs). BACs are fundamental building blocks of mental representations, which comprise functional, sensory, spatiotemporal, and biomechanical characteristics of a movement (Schack, 2010). In this study, novices and handball athletes (N = 199) each were grouped according to the level of development in motor ontogenesis (in childhood, pubescence, and adolescents). Male and female handball athletes played in the highest leagues of their age groups. As a result, novices of all age groups showed the same unstructured mental representation. Athletes in the earliest age band resemble all novices' groups and showed similar unstructured mental representation, whereas athletes within pubescence and adolescents showed functionally well-structured representations, which were similar to the structure of the reference group (N = 8). These results are consistent with a previous investigation of related quantitative and qualitative performance parameters of the overhead throwing movement (Gromeier et al., 2017). Without an increased training, neither the throwing performance nor the associated mental representation is unlikely to improve further by itself or automatically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gromeier
- Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Research Group, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Thomas Schack
- Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Research Group, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Center of Excellence "Cognitive Interaction Technology" (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Dirk Koester
- Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Research Group, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Center of Excellence "Cognitive Interaction Technology" (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,BSP Business School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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5
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Carroll C. Female excellence in rock climbing likely has an evolutionary origin. Curr Res Physiol 2021; 4:39-46. [PMID: 34746825 PMCID: PMC8562198 DOI: 10.1016/j.crphys.2021.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The human body is exceptional for many reasons, not the least of which is the wide variety of movements it is capable of executing. Because our species is able to execute so many discrete activities, researchers often disagree on which were the movements most essential to the evolution of our species. This paper continues a recently introduced analysis, that the performance gap between female and male athletes narrows in sports which most reflect the movements humans evolved to do. Here, I examine the performance gap in rock climbing. Female climbers are some of the best in the world irrespective of gender, a trend that is not found in any other major sport. I conclude that the exceptional ability of female rock climbers relative to male rock climbers is further evidence of the existence of sex-blind musculoskeletal adaptations, which developed over the course of human evolution – as a result of external (non-sexual) selection forces – to facilitate essential movements. These adaptations abate some of the general physical sexual dimorphism which exists in humans. This paper provides more evidence that the human body was shaped, in part, by pressure to climb well. Rock climbing is the sport most similar to tree climbing, a movement essential to human development. Multiple women can be found in the list of top 100 rock climbers, a trend not found in any other major sport. Sports with a higher degree of gender equity, may reflect movements with a greater degree of evolutionary importance. Rock climbing’s gender gap provides further evidence that early humans faced external selection pressure to climb well. Thus, the importance of climbing to the survival of humans - even after the onset of genus Homo - may be understated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Collin Carroll
- Columbia University. 2 Broad Street, Westport, CT, 06880, USA
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6
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Devine C. Female Sports Participation, Gender Identity and the British 2010 Equality Act. SPORT, ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/17511321.2021.1993982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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7
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Ponzi D, Dadomo H, Filonzi L, Palanza P, Pelosi A, Ceresini G, Parmigiani S, Marzano FN. Cortisol, Temperament and Serotonin in Karate Combats: An Evolutionary Psychobiological Perspective. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00178-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objectives
There is evidence suggesting that in martial arts competitions athletes characterized by higher anxiety and harm avoidance may be more likely to lose a fight. This psychological profile has been hypothesized to explain in part the observation that cortisol is higher in losers before and in response to a competition. An important research target that needs further exploration is the identification of phenotypic traits that can be helpful in predicting athletes’ performance. Here we present a brief description of the theoretical bases that drives our research in the evolutionary psychobiology of sports and illustrate preliminary data on the relationship between the 5HTTLPR genotype, salivary cortisol, temperament and competition.
Methods
Sixty-five healthy male non-professional athletes provided saliva samples 10 min before and after a kumite session and filled out the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.
Results
Salivary cortisol levels 10 min before the competition were higher in losers and in athletes with the S allele. Temperament was associated with competition outcome and cortisol: losers were characterized by higher scores of harm avoidance and harm avoidance was positively correlated with cortisol levels.
Conclusions
The results confirm previous findings linking temperamental traits, pre-and post- competition physiological stress response with competition outcome in kumite fight. Moreover, they indicate an association between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and pre-competition salivary cortisol, thus providing a preliminary but non-conclusive evidence on the role played by the 5HTTLPR genotype as a vulnerability factor in sport competition.
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Morris JS, Link J, Martin JC, Carrier DR. Sexual dimorphism in human arm power and force: implications for sexual selection on fighting ability. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.212365. [PMID: 31862852 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.212365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism often arises from selection on specific musculoskeletal traits that improve male fighting performance. In humans, one common form of fighting includes using the fists as weapons. Here, we tested the hypothesis that selection on male fighting performance has led to the evolution of sexual dimorphism in the musculoskeletal system that powers striking with a fist. We compared male and female arm cranking power output, using it as a proxy for the power production component of striking with a fist. Using backward arm cranking as an unselected control, our results indicate the presence of pronounced male-biased sexual dimorphism in muscle performance for protracting the arm to propel the fist forward. We also compared overhead pulling force between males and females, to test the alternative hypothesis that sexual dimorphism in the upper body of humans is a result of selection on male overhead throwing ability. We found weaker support for this hypothesis, with less pronounced sexual dimorphism in overhead arm pulling force. The results of this study add to a set of recently identified characters indicating that sexual selection on male aggressive performance has played a role in the evolution of the human musculoskeletal system and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy S Morris
- Department of Biology, Wofford College, 429 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303, USA
| | - Jenna Link
- Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, 250 S 1850 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - James C Martin
- Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, 250 S 1850 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - David R Carrier
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Maselli A, Dhawan A, Russo M, Cesqui B, Lacquaniti F, d'Avella A. A whole body characterization of individual strategies, gender differences, and common styles in overarm throwing. J Neurophysiol 2019; 122:2486-2503. [PMID: 31577474 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00011.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Overarm throwing is a fundamental human skill. Since paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies, the ability of throwing played a key role in brain and body co-evolution. For decades, throwing skill acquisition has been the subject of developmental and gender studies. However, due to its complex multijoint nature, whole body throwing has found little space in quantitative studies of motor behavior. In this study we examined how overarm throwing varies within and between individuals in a sample of untrained adults. To quantitatively compare whole body kinematics across throwing actions, we introduced a new combination of spatiotemporal principal component, linear discrimination, and clustering analyses. We found that the identity and gender of a thrower can be robustly inferred by the kinematics of a single throw, reflecting the characteristic features in individual throwing strategies and providing a quantitative ground for the well-known differences between males and females in throwing behavior. We also identified four main classes of throwing strategies, stable within individuals and resembling the main stages of throwing proficiency acquisition during motor development. These results support earlier proposals linking interindividual and gender differences in throwing, with skill acquisition interrupted at different stages of the typical developmental trajectory of throwing motor behavior.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Unconstrained throwing, because of its complexity, received little attention in quantitative motor control studies. By introducing a new approach to analyze whole body kinematics, we quantitatively characterized gender effects, interindividual differences, and common patterns in nontrained throwers. The four throwing styles identified across individuals resemble different stages in the acquisition of throwing skills during development. These results advance our understanding of complex motor skills, bridging the gap between motor control, motor development, and sport science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Maselli
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Aishwar Dhawan
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Russo
- Department of Systems Medicine and Center of Space Biomedicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Benedetta Cesqui
- Department of Systems Medicine and Center of Space Biomedicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Lacquaniti
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Systems Medicine and Center of Space Biomedicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea d'Avella
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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10
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Crozier D, Zhang Z, Park SW, Sternad D. Gender Differences in Throwing Revisited: Sensorimotor Coordination in a Virtual Ball Aiming Task. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:231. [PMID: 31379537 PMCID: PMC6657012 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have demonstrated that boys throw balls faster, farther and more accurately than girls. This may be largely due to well-known anatomical and muscle-physiological differences that play a central role in overarm throwing. With the objective to understand the potential contribution of the equally essential coordinative aspects in throwing for this gender difference, this large cross-sectional study examined a simplified forearm throw that eliminated the requirements that give males an advantage.While the overall performance error indeed became similar in the age groups younger than 20 years and older than 50 years, it was attenuated for middle-aged individuals. The gender differences remained in individuals who reported no throwing experience, but females with throwing experience reached similar performance as males. Two fine-grained spatiotemporal metrics displayed similar age-dependent gender disparities: while overall, males showed better spatiotemporal coordination of the ball release, age group comparisons specified that it was particularly middle-aged females that made more timing errors and did not develop a noise-tolerant strategy as males did. As throwing experience did not explain this age-dependency, the results are discussed in the context of spatial abilities and video game experience, both more pronounced in males. In contrast, a measure of rhythmicity developed over successive throws only revealed weak gender differences, speaking to the fundamental tendency in humans to fall into rhythmic patterns. Only the youngest individuals between 5 and 9 years of age showed significantly less rhythmicity in their performance. This computational study was performed in a large cohort in the context of an outreach activity, demonstrating that robust quantitative measures can also be obtained in less controlled environments. The findings also alert that motor neuroscience may need to pay more attention to gender differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dena Crozier
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Zhaoran Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Se-Woong Park
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Dagmar Sternad
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
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Lombardo MP, Otieno S, Heiss A. College-aged women in the United States that play overhand throwing sports have masculine digit ratios. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203685. [PMID: 30212523 PMCID: PMC6136748 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Athletic prowess in both males and females is negatively correlated with the ratio between the lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D), a correlate of prenatal testosterone exposure. Because multiple lines of evidence suggest that prenatal testosterone exposure is associated with sports interest, motivation, and athletic performance we measured the digit ratios of 77 non-athletes, 103 varsity athletes, and 78 club sport athletes to test 8 hypotheses about the relationship between digit ratio and the athletic behavior of college-age women in the USA. Using independent samples t-tests, we found no significant differences between the digit ratios of women that (1) were athletes and non-athletes, (2) were varsity or club sport athletes, (3) had played or were currently playing individual or team sports, (4) played contact and non-contact sports, (5) played sports involving a ball and those that do not, (6) played sports where the outcome was determined by a score or the outcome of direct physical competition or subjectively by judges, or (7) were starters or reserves on their teams. However, women that played overhand throwing sports softball and water polo had significantly smaller digit ratios than did women that played other sports. These differences were not due to scaling effects. The independent samples t-test results were supported by subsequent Monte Carlo bootstrap, Bayesian, Random Forest, and multiple linear regression analyses. We suggest that the organizational consequences of prenatal testosterone exposure may influence the anatomy and physiology of women that leads to success playing overhand throwing sports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. Lombardo
- Biology Department, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Sango Otieno
- Statistics Department, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Adam Heiss
- Statistics Department, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, United States of America
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