Why men outperform women at ‘mindsports’ – and what to do about it (games)

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RELATED (scivillage): Emily Bridges needs to face biological reality
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From bridge to chess, why men outperform women at ‘mindsports’ – and what to do about it
https://theconversation.com/from-bridge-...-it-223873

EXCERPTS: Why do men strongly outperform women at “mindsports” such as chess and bridge? Mindsports mainly use the brain and require skills such as memory, critical thinking, problem solving, strategic planning, mental discipline and judgment. Without physical differences in strength, how do we explain why the top level of such games tends to be dominated by men?

A defining characteristic of bridge, which I study, is that it is always played in partnership. [...] Male domination at both the top levels of administration and of the game means there can be a lack of recognition of the structural barriers for women.

Research conducted by the academic project Bridge: A MindSport for All (Bamsa) found that gender stereotypes and “neurosexism” (claiming there are differences between female and male brains that can explain women’s inferiority), can partly explain differences in achievement.

That’s because sexist arguments that male brains are superiorly wired for logic and mathematics can be used to offer men more opportunities and training than women.

This is despite the fact that modern research shows there isn’t such a thing as a distinctly male or female brain. Most brains are a mosaic of what we think of as feminine and masculine features. And the more mixed our brains, the better our mental health.

The brain also changes a lot depending on our environment – if we are constantly encouraged or discouraged to do certain things, such as nurturing, this will affect our brain wiring – a process called neuroplasticity.

Research has also shown that when people are reminded of a negative gender stereotype, such as women not being good at maths or men not being good at emotions, they actually perform worse on tasks measuring such ability. Men also have higher levels of general confidence than women, which is a reflection of society and can be an advantage in mindsports.

[...] Given the everyday sexism that exists in the worlds of bridge, chess and beyond, women-only events are important spaces. These can help women develop and compete in a less pressured arena relatively free of discrimination and the male gaze... (MORE - missing details)

[Syne]

This is despite the fact that modern research shows there isn’t such a thing as a distinctly male or female brain.

Unless the academics are trying to support transgenderism.

[Yazata]

From bridge to chess, why men outperform women at ‘mindsports’ – and what to do about it

Why must anything be done about it?

Mindsports mainly use the brain and require skills such as memory, critical thinking, problem solving, strategic planning, mental discipline and judgment. Without physical differences in strength, how do we explain why the top level of such games tends to be dominated by men?

Probably because men, on average, are more inclined than women to think in impersonal terms. I remember a female university engineering student once telling me that she much preferred the company of men to women because men talked about things she found interesting - machines (mechanical or electronic) or abstract concepts. While all the women in her dorm talked incessantly about their and other people's relationships, which she found hugely boring. Once she alerted me to it, I noticed it myself. If I overheard a group of men talking, it was usually about things like sports or automobiles or gadgets of some kind. If I overheard a group of women talking, it was usually a "he said... she said..." thing relating how people relate.

It's probably the reason why there are so few world-class female mathematicians and why something like 70% of clinical psychology PhDs are earned by women. Why physical science and engineering still tend to be dominated by males, while sociology or literary studies are dominated just as much by females.

...sexist arguments that male brains are superiorly wired for logic and mathematics can be used to offer men more opportunities and training than women.

Maybe, if opportunities and training were only available to the most talented 1%. But that isn't how it is. Male and female talent distributions overlap. There might be fewer females with high-level talent in engineering, but those that possess considerable engineering talent are still going to be superior to most males who don't.

And as much as it's a matter of talent, it's also a matter of interest. While many women probably can understand the more impersonal logic and mathematical stuff if they applied themselves to it, more of them prefer a more humanistic approach which they find easier and more natural.

This is despite the fact that modern research shows there isnt such a thing as a distinctly male or female brain.

Right, tell that to the "transgender" activists.

And tell it to the feminists too. Feminists often announce that women are more peaceful than men, less violent, more nurturing and caring, less competitive, and more social than men. Hence society should be led by women (according to the feminists).

I think that there's some truth to the "stereotype". (Any time we ascribe characteristics to groups we are creating stereotypes. It's a cognitive necessity if we are to think about groups at all.) Just look at crime statistics where most offenders are young males. Men are more apt to get into fights. Wars are started and fought by males etc.

But equally, that is why males tend to excel at competitive games. (Which gets us back to the thread title.)

[Syne]

There are very interesting differences between male and female psychology but in today's intellectual climate, it's almost impossible to research them or write about them. So these are paths to be trodden by scholars in coming generations, I guess.

Or past generations, where there's already abundant research demonstrating male and female brain and behavior differences.

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Competitors should draw lots to decide who will be identifying as male/female/trans for the duration of any competition.

[C C]

AI analysis unveils gender disparities in brain organization and function
https://www.insideprecisionmedicine.com/...-function/

INTRO: Researchers at Stanford Medicine developed a new artificial intelligence model that in tests was found to be more than 90% successful at determining whether MRI scans of human brain activity were from a man or from a woman.

“A key motivation for this study is that sex plays a crucial role in human brain development, in aging, and in the manifestation of psychiatric and neurological disorders,” said Vinod Menon, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory. “Identifying consistent and replicable sex differences in the healthy adult brain is a critical step toward a deeper understanding of sex-specific vulnerabilities in psychiatric and neurological disorders.”

The study is published in PNAS.

In their report, the investigators concluded, “Our findings underscore the crucial role of sex as a biological determinant in human brain organization, have significant implications for developing personalized sex-specific biomarkers in psychiatric and neurological disorders, and provide innovative AI-based computational tools for future research.” The lead authors are Srikanth Ryali, PhD, and academic staff researcher Yuan Zhang, PhD... (MORE - details)

[Yazata]

AI analysis unveils gender disparities in brain organization and function
https://www.insideprecisionmedicine.com/...-function/

INTRO: Researchers at Stanford Medicine developed a new artificial intelligence model that in tests was found to be more than 90% successful at determining whether MRI scans of human brain activity were from a man or from a woman.

Which suggest a number of follow-on questions. Two that I just thought of:

1. Are these differences detected in the MRI scans associated with observable behavioral or cognitive differences? Certainly that will be a difficult question to answer, since correlation mustn't be confused with causation.

2. How much overlap is there between males and females? If the computer can successfully determine the sex of the subject in more than 90% of cases, that suggests very little overlap. In other words, the difference is more than a slight statistical bias.

[Syne]

Evolutionary pressures ensure there should be significant differences. Men have always had to be competent to pass on their genes, while women have no performance burden other than looking good. One requires a larger cognitive load than the other.