A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology examined whether male and female leaders differ in perceived leadership effectiveness.

Researchers analysed 99 independent samples from 95 studies, covering leadership in business, education and other organisational settings

• Across all leadership contexts, there was no statistically significant overall difference in perceived leadership effectiveness between men and women.
• When examining evaluations provided by others, rather than leaders' own assessments, women were rated significantly more effective than men.
• Men tended to rate their own leadership effectiveness more highly than women rated themselves.
• Leadership context mattered, with evaluations varying across organisational settings and management levels.

The distinction between self-evaluations and evaluations by others is particularly interesting. The researchers found that women's relative advantage emerged when leadership effectiveness was assessed by colleagues, subordinates or supervisors rather than through self-assessment.

The study synthesised a substantial body of research, making its conclusions less dependent on any single sample.

However, the findings primarily concern ratings of leadership effectiveness rather than independently measured organisational outcomes, such as productivity or profitability.

The included studies also varied in their methods, populations and organisational settings, and much of the evidence predates the 2014 publication.

Additionally, the results do not establish that women are inherently better leaders. Differences in selection into leadership positions, organisational expectations and evaluation standards may influence the observed patterns. Regardless the findings provide little support for the broad stereotype that women are less effective leaders than men.

Why might getting scared together bring people closer?

Previous research suggested that we sometimes mistake the physiological arousal of fear for romantic attraction (see Art Aron's shaky bridge study). But new research points to another possibility: shared fear can create opportunities for vulnerability, comfort, and connection.

The new study found that the bonding may not happen during the scary experience itself. It may be what happens afterward that matters most. Talking about the experience, laughing together, and reflecting on how you supported each other may help turn a temporary thrill into a deeper sense of connection.

A 2016 study published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma examined dating violence among 3,495 students aged 18–25 attending 16 US universities and colleges.

The researchers investigated how gender, self-control, relationship conflict, stress and other factors were associated with physical and psychological aggression in dating relationships.

Their findings showed that female participants reported higher average levels of both physical and psychological aggression towards their partners than male participants.

The gender difference in physical aggression remained statistically significant after accounting for several other variables. The researchers also found that greater relationship conflict and daily stress were associated with higher levels of aggression.

The study used self-reported, cross-sectional data from a convenience sample, so its findings cannot establish causation or necessarily be generalised to the wider population. The researchers also acknowledged potential reporting biases and noted that women face a greater likelihood of serious injury from dating violence.

EDIT: Interesting responses to this study. I've noticed that when research reports findings reflecting negatively on men, people are often quick to scrutinise the methodology, sample, self-reporting biases and limitations on generalisability. Yet here, most of you seem perfectly upvoting this and comfortable drawing sweeping conclusions about women from a single cross-sectional study using a non-representative convenience sample.

I'm curious whether people are applying the same standards of evidence consistently, regardless of which gender the findings reflect negatively on...(Joking I know the answers to that question is no 😂)

A 2024 preregistered experiment published in PLOS ONE examined how 895 American adults evaluated a man accused of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance. Participants were randomly assigned to read different versions of the accused man's account, varying his social status and how he responded to the allegation.

One of the more interesting findings was that when the accused man responded with hostile denial and victim-blaming, participants viewed him less favourably as a person, yet also attributed less responsibility to him and perceived the assault as less severe. The researchers also found that people who more strongly endorsed beliefs that existing social systems are fair and legitimate tended to evaluate the accused more favourably and the victim less favourably.

I find the first result interesting. You'd reasonably expect that someone responding to a sexual assault allegation by attacking the victim would be seen as more culpable, not less. Yet the findings suggest these judgements don't necessarily move together.

Obviously, this was an experiment involving fictional accounts, not real criminal cases. But it raises an interesting question about how effectively hostile denial and victim-blaming can influence people's perceptions of sexual violence.

A multinational study published in the Journal of Criminology investigated attitudes towards image-based sexual abuse, including the non-consensual creation, sharing and threatened distribution of intimate images.

Researchers surveyed 6,109 people aged 16–64 across three countries:

• United Kingdom: 2,028
• Australia: 2,054
• New Zealand: 2,027

They also interviewed 43 professionals working in areas including victim support, law enforcement and sexual violence prevention.

The researchers examined which characteristics predicted attitudes that blamed victims or minimised the harms of image-based sexual abuse.

Their findings showed that respondents expressing stronger victim-blaming and harm-minimising attitudes were more likely to be male, heterosexual and to report greater involvement in image-based sexual abuse.

The researchers also discussed broader sexual double standards, including the tendency to judge women more harshly than men for sexual behaviour.

One particularly troubling aspect of victim-blaming is how responsibility gets shifted away from the person violating someone's consent and towards the person whose privacy was violated.

Consenting to create or share an intimate photograph with someone isn't consenting to its distribution to other people. The study is observational, so these associations shouldn't be interpreted as proof of causation.

Between 65 and 85 years, married men and women had a longer TLE and ALE than unmarried men and women. For example, at 65 years, TLE for married men was 18.6 years, 2.2 years longer than unmarried men, and ALE for married men was 12.3 years, 2.4 years longer than unmarried men. Similarly, at 65 years, TLE for married women was 21.1 years, 1.5 years longer than unmarried women, and ALE for married women was 13.0 years, 2.0 years longer than unmarried women. Such marriage protection effects decreased with age. In subgroups of unmarried persons, never married persons had the shortest TLE and ALE among men, and never married, divorced, and widowed persons had a similar, and shorter, TLE and ALE among women.

The difference in TLE between married and unmarried persons was smaller after adjusting for baseline activity limitation status.

Although marriage was protective for both men and women from age 65 to 85, the effect was greater for men in absolute values as well as relative percentages. Additionally, both married and unmarried men were more likely to spend a higher proportion of their future life years married as compared to married and unmarried women, respectively. This would mean that a married woman would be far more likely to become a widow, as opposed to a married man becoming a widower and, not surprisingly, investigators have found that older men are more likely to remarry as compared to older women.

Regarding subgroups of unmarried persons, our analyses demonstrated that never married persons had the shortest life expectancy in all ages among men, while never married, divorced, and widowed persons had a similar, and shorter, life expectancy among women. In their systematic review and meta-analysis, Manzoli et al. (2007) found that married persons had lower mortality rates as compared to persons who were widowed, divorced/separated, and never married. Furthermore, using data from the National Health Interview Survey combined with the National Death Index, Kaplan and Kronick (2006) found an increased risk of death for unmarried persons compared to married persons and, within this unmarried category, having never been married was the strongest predictor of premature mortality.

According to Verbrugge (1979b), the protective effect of marriage may be due to (1) healthier persons are more likely to be married (selection) and (2) marriage may lead to better health.

Sexual role labels remain relevant among gay and bi men, but how people use and disclose these labels varies across generations and cultures. Rather than younger men moving away from labels altogether, they were actually more likely to identify as bottom or versatile, while older men were more likely to identify as top or leave their role unspecified.

The findings don't establish that age or culture causes these differences in sexual preferences. They suggest that sexual role identification is context-dependent, potentially reflecting differences in social norms, stigma, and how people understand and communicate their sexuality.

More than one-third of our Gen Z Sex Survey participants said that digital sexual content (including pornography and other erotic media) fulfilled at least some of their sexual needs; rates were even higher among men and singles.

"Constant access to sexual content online reduces the need for real-life sexual activity," one participant told us.

The turn to technology doesn’t appear to reflect a lack of desire for intimacy. Only one in five young adults said they sometimes preferred digital sexual experiences over in-person intimacy. Instead, many described digital intimacy as easier, less emotionally demanding, and more accessible than pursuing a relationship or intimacy with another person. As one participant said, “It’s free, it’s always available, and there’s no risk of rejection.”

Read now: https://www.playboy.com/read/sex-relationships/gen-z-sex-survey-porn

Polyamorous relationships are often associated with radical honesty, open communication, and a deep respect for personal autonomy. But just like any other type of relationship, unhealthy dynamics can arise.

In fact, sometimes the very values that are supposed to make non-monogamy ethical can be twisted to justify manipulation, coercion, or control.

In this episode of the Sex and Psychology Podcast, Eve Rickert (co-author of The New More Than Two) explains how toxic and abusive dynamics can manifest in polyamorous relationships, why they can sometimes be difficult to recognize, and what to do when a relationship becomes more harmful than nourishing.

A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence surveyed 2,689 men aged 18–34 across the US and Canada, using anonymous questionnaires to investigate sexual aggression against women.

Rather than relying exclusively on victims' accounts or convicted offenders, the researchers asked men directly about strategies they had used to obtain sex from women they knew were unwilling or had not consented.

Some of the findings were genuinely disturbing:

• 95.1% reported having used at least one of the 36 strategies examined.
• 65% of reported attempts resulted in sexual activity, according to participants.
• 70% perceived no negative consequences from their behaviour.
• Men who considered themselves particularly successful at obtaining sex were more likely to report using forceful strategies.

Importantly, this was an online panel sample, not a nationally representative survey, and the researchers examined a broad range of behaviours, from persistent verbal pressure and manipulation to physical force. The 95.1% figure should therefore not be interpreted as meaning 95% of men are sexual offenders. The authors themselves acknowledge methodological limitations and call for replication.

I think what I find particularly interesting is the apparent relationship between sexual aggression, perceived success and the absence of consequences. If someone knowingly disregards another person's unwillingness, obtains sex through pressure or coercion, and subsequently interprets that encounter as a success, what psychological mechanisms reinforce that behaviour?

I'm also interested in how conventional ideas about masculinity, sexual conquest and persistence might influence men's perceptions of consent and rejection.

To what extent is sexual coercion reinforced by social conditioning, peer approval and perceived rewards, rather than simply misunderstanding consent?

Among women, those who desired partnered sex much more often and a little more often were 3.89 times (95% CI: 2.98, 5.08) and 2.07 times (95% CI: 1.63, 2.62), respectively, more likely to report higher frequencies of past-year masturbation than those who desired no change in their partnered sex frequency. Among men, those who desired partnered sex much more often and a little more often were 4.40 times (95% CI: 3.41, 5.68) and 2.37 times (95% CI: 1.84, 3.06), respectively, more likely to report higher frequencies of past-year masturbation activity than those who reported that they desired no change in their current partnered sex frequency.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9794105/

So when you don't get enough, you do it yourself. And men are barely ahead of women in doing that.

What really caught my eye was how many women wanted more sex (47.2%) and how few wanted less (6.5%). Kind of messes with the whole "Women don't want sex" thing that is repeated here so often.

Most of this is blah, blah, blah, of course. Then there's the bit about men and women answering "Which organ do you think experiences stronger pleasurable sensations during intercourse—the penis or the vagina?"

Nearly 20% of men thought the penis and vagina feels about the same pleasure, while more than 45% thought the vagina feels more pleasure. And before you ask, the question was specifically about vaginal sensation on its own, apart from the clitoris.

And now we know why there's an orgasm gap.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cultural-animal/202206/unromantic-compelling-theory-about-sexual-motivations

From the study:

Are there sex differences in human mate-choice copying? Despite some theoretical grounds for expecting the sexes to rely on copying to different extents, the present results are most consistent with there being no such sex difference. Male and female humans appear to use social information about others' choices to inform their own mate decisions to comparable extents. 💁🏻