More men, more problems? Not necessarily, study finds
男人越多,问题就越多?研究发现,不一定**
man and woman.jpg
Men are more prone to competitive risk taking and violent behavior, so what happens when the number of men is greater than the number of women in a population?
男性比女性更加喜欢冒险和暴力,那么,当男性人口数量大于女性的时候,会发生什么呢?
According to research by Florida State University Professor of Psychology Jon Maner, the answers might not be what you expect.
根据佛罗里达州立大学心理学教授Jon Maner的研究,答案可能不是你想的那样。
"When men outnumber women in a given ecology, intuition might suggest that rates of violent crime would skyrocket, marriages would destabilize and many children would be born out of wedlock," he said. "Intriguingly, the opposite has been observed."
他说“在特定的生态环境中,当男性数量大于女性时,人们会直觉地认为暴力犯罪率会飙升,婚姻会不稳定,私生子会增加。有趣的是,结果正好相反。”
Maner's study, "Ecological Sex Ratios and Human Mating," was published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. The study was based on a review and analysis of previous work on the topic conducted by Maner and others.
Maner题为“生态性别比和人类交配”,发表在《认知科学趋势》杂志上。这项研究是基于对Maner和其他人关于这个主题的研究的回顾和分析。
Although ecological sex ratios have been investigated extensively in nonhuman species, they play a crucial role in humans as well. Many factors can produce sex ratio imbalances, including wars, which kill more men than women, and sex-differentiated migration patterns.
生态性别比在非人类物种中已经做了广泛研究,关于此的研究对于人类来说也至关重要。造成性别比例失衡的因素有很多,包括导致男性人数多于女性的战争和性别化的移民模式。
"One of the central ideas is that when there is an imbalance in sex ratios, whichever sex is in the majority faces a lot more competition when it comes to finding and retaining romantic partners," he said. "One way in which that competition expresses itself is in the way both men and women shift their overall mating strategy toward the typical mating strategy of the other gender."
“其中一个核心概念是,当男女比例失衡时,无论男女,占多数的一方在求偶方面将面临更激烈的竞争。”他说,“这种竞争表现出来的一种方式是,男性和女性都将自己的整体择偶策略转向典型的异性择偶策略上来。”
In order to compete, many male species will often resort to competitive risk taking or violent behaviors to attract females. In human males this means attention-grabbing, riskier behaviors like overextending financially to purchase status symbols, riding motorcycles and fighting.
为了在竞争中获胜,许多雄性物种往往会采取冒险甚至是暴力的行为来吸引雌性。对于人类男性来说,这些行为就包括为获取社会地位而过度举债、赛车甚至是打架。
But there are other male responses that are lesser known and, Maner pointed out, more typical of females.
Maner指出,还有一些男性对此的反应是不太为人所知的,且更倾向于典型的女性方式。
"Another way men can compete with one another is by being quicker to settle down with one woman, get married and really devote himself more fully to having kids and being a good parent," he said. "On the other hand, if he isn't able to find a partner, he might be inclined to compete in other ways and that's where you might find increased violence, risk taking and competition with other men."
Maner说,“男人参与竞争的另一种方式是更快地与一个女人稳定下来、结婚生子,成为一个好的父亲。另一方面,如果一个男人无法找到对象,他可能会采取其他方式参与竞争,这也就是为什么男性会采取暴力、冒险的行为了。”
Maner said his study also revealed this crisscross of traits works in the opposite direction with women adopting behavior more typical of men when they are in the overrepresented population.
Maner说,他的研究还发现,这种交叉现象在女性中是相反的,当女性人数多于男性时,她们会采取更典型的男性行为。
"When women are more abundant, they are more open to casual sexual relationships, less likely to get married," he said. "They are essentially catering to what is often the trait among men, which is to play the field."
Maner称,“女性数量越多,她们对性关系就越随意,结婚的可能性也就越小。她们的行为就更加符合男性的特点,那就是到处沾花惹草。”
For those in overrepresented populations who might already have trouble finding a mate, competition to win a mate's affections can get especially difficult. Maner mentioned men of low socioeconomic status as an example.
Maner还以社会经济地位比较低的男性为例说明对于那些很难找到找到对象的人来说,赢得竞争并获得异性喜爱就更难了。
"They are generally less desirable to potential partners and their mating opportunities are limited," he said. "They face especially fierce competition, so they are especially inclined to find a partner and settle down quickly."
Maner说,“他们通常不太受欢迎,因而找到对象的希望也很渺茫。他们面临着特别激烈的竞争,所以他们倾向于找到对象,并迅速稳定下来。”
重点词汇
be prone to****倾向于
Girls seem to be more prone to distraction, though Mr Hill cannot muster the statistical power to be certain.
尽管希尔先生没有搜集到确凿的统计数据,但是女孩子似乎更容易分心。
outnumber /aʊt'nʌmbə/ vt. ****数量多于****;****比****…****多
They outnumbered us three to one.
他们以三比一的人数超过我们(他们的人数比我们多两倍)。
ecology /ɪ'kɒlədʒɪ/ n. 生态学;社会生态学
He is not interested in ecology.
他对生态学不感兴趣。
out of wedlock非婚生的
In most countries, rising divorce rates coincide with more births out of wedlock and a fall in marriage rates.
在大多数国家,与飙升的离婚率并发的还有婚外生子率的增加、结婚率的下降。
extensive /ɪk'stensɪv/ adj. ****广阔的****, 广泛的****; 大量的****, 大规模的
The editor made extensive changes in the article.
编辑对文章中作了很大的修改。
resort to****诉诸于****, 求助于,凭借
They had to resort to a winch.
他们不得不转而使用绞车。
overextend /əʊv(ə)rɪk'stend/ vt. 过分张开;过分扩展;使(自己或别人)承担过多的工作
He and his wife were a little overextended on their mortgage.
他和妻子透支了他们的抵押额度。
settle down****定居;专心于;安定下来
Both have settled down in the city.
现在,孩子们都已经把家安在城市里。
crisscross /'krɪs,krɒs/ n. ****十字形图案****;****纵横交错的网
An elaborate network of bike paths criss-cross the city.
复杂繁密的自行车道在这座城市纵横交错。
overrepresented /'əuvə,repri'zent/ adj. ****有过多代表的;代表人数超出比例的
It might actually cause harm by skewing the natural immune response away from the virus already in Jeanna's brain and toward variants overrepresented in the vaccine.
搞不好金娜的免疫系统转移目标,放下脑里的活病毒,而去对付疫苗里的病毒,那就不妙了。
abundant /ə'bʌnd(ə)nt/ adj. ****大量的****, 充足的
An abundant harvest is in prospect.
丰收在望。
cater to****迎合;为…服务
He caters to wealthy businessmen and socialites.
他主要是服务于豪商巨贾和社会名流。
play the field****不专一;滥交情人
In general, I don't think she's a person that loves to date and play the field.
一般来说,我不觉得她是一个喜欢约会、喜欢游戏情场的人。
socioeconomic /'səʊsɪəʊ,iːkə'nɒmɪk/ adj. ****社会经济学的
This will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of Malawi.
该被网络有助于促进马拉维社会经济的持续发展。
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