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Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts

Thursday

My homelessness was temporary. But for many older women like me, a house is becoming out of reach

At the end of 2014, my husband and I sold every last pot and pan, every item of furniture we owned – we even sold my house. It was to fund a year-long trip abroad. Eight months later, I was compelled to return to Australia in difficult circumstances. My husband had sadly, and unexpectedly, passed away from a heart attack in Portugal. Evidently, there is never a good time for your husband to pass away, certainly not in a foreign country, but death struck him at perhaps the worst possible time for me.

We'd taken it for granted that when our finances dried up, we'd easily find employment and a place to live back home in the UK. However, this was not the case. We'd spent all our savings, I was out of work, and, quite crucially, I was on my own.

We are the fastest-growing demographic in Australia to fall into homelessness.

My family and I are homeless in Australia, caught in a relentless and unforgiving loop of seeking aid that's nowhere to be found, unfortunately | Stephanie Valla

Showing the struggles faced by older women in the UK who are trying to find secure housing. A lifetime of entrenched financial disadvantage (lower wages, lower pension amounts, smaller savings pots, fewer assets), as well as relationship breakdowns, mental health difficulties, domestic abuse and losing a partner, can all contribute to why women suddenly find themselves without a home of their own.

Nine years ago, these statistics applied to me. What ultimately saved me were friends and family.

For three months I stayed with friends: my son and his housemates were kind enough to take me in at one point, then I spent a bit of time in my mother-in-law's spare bedroom. Roughly six weeks of that time was spent at my brother's place with his family. With some help from travel insurance, they gave me a hand in relocating to a small country town where I eventually found a little cottage to rent and furnished it with borrowed items.

Family and friends who are dedicated to one's well-being can greatly contribute to older women avoiding decades-long homelessness.

Fortunately, my period of homelessness was brief. The mental harm it caused was more severe than the physical difficulties themselves. I never had to sleep rough, I never felt threatened, and I never went without heat. My family supported me while I got back on my feet. It was in that small country cottage that I had the time and space to grieve and recover, worrying about money, looking for work, washing my clothes by hand and writing a significant portion of a book. That particular place allowed me to regain my health, my dignity, and the mental space to be creative, as well as the opportunity to form new friendships and connections with others who could offer support.

‘Deaths of avoidable poverty and desperation’: homelessness report discloses rise in fatalities in Australia

Having one's own home, and indeed one's own room, is synonymous with freedom and a fundamental need for privacy. How can we truly be ourselves if we don't have the time, the liberty, and the space to spend some time on our own? In order to be, one requires a door that closes - a door that shields oneself from the challenges of the world. When I returned to Australia, I told anyone who inquired that Maslow was on the right lines. Human beings' most essential need is physiological, and it is indeed sufficient for a period. For a time, it is all that really matters.

I find that growing older is a humbling experience. The brilliant and terrible knowledge I've gained about myself and about human nature – health worries that gnaw at my pride, the looming spectre of mortality and all those dreadful mistakes I've made throughout a tumultuous lifetime – ageing has created a world more daunting but also made richer through my gratitude and growing acceptance. And being on my own (I wouldn't have it any other way) adds to life's complexity.

Writing this piece, nearly a decade after the fact, I could sob with joy for the everyday satisfaction I now derive from simply basking in the sunlight streaming through the window on a summer's day, unwinding on my sofa in front of subpar TV on an evening, or slumping onto my freshly laid bed on quiet Sunday mornings. My wish is that all older women discover such serenity in a house they can call their own.

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Wednesday

Men exhibit stronger sunk cost bias than women when mating motives are activated

It appears surprisingly, this impact isn't confined to romantic situations, and it also applies to how people behave when making purchasing decisions, indicating that fundamental evolutionary impulses can whimsically influence behaviour across various settings.

The sunk cost fallacy refers to the inclination to stick with a decision or investment because of the resources already put into it, even though it would be more sensible to cut losses when it's no longer in your favour. For instance, a person might carry on watching a film they're not enjoying simply because they've invested 60 minutes of their time. It is commonly seen as illogical because the cash and effort already committed (the "sunk costs") can't be got back, and choices should typically be guided by future outcomes rather than past spend.

Conventionally, explanations for this bias have centred on psychological and cognitive factors, such as the wish to avoid waste, fear of regret, or a requirement to justify earlier decisions. Nevertheless, some researchers propose that sunk cost bias may not always be unreasonable. From an evolutionary standpoint, committing to an investment might have been advantageous in contexts such as securing a mate and survival, where persistence and resource commitment indicated fitness and reliability to potential partners or guaranteed access to essential resources.

This evolutionary perspective is behind the purpose of the study. The researchers suggested that sunk cost bias might help in relationships, particularly in the case of men, who in the past have used aggressive and resource-demanding approaches to secure partners. They proposed that the driving force behind securing a partner could trigger an implemental mindset, a focus on achieving specific goals, that would increase the likelihood of sticking with prior investments, even in unrelated areas, like consumer behaviour.

To find out how mating motives impact the sunk cost bias, the researchers carried out one field study and seven laboratory experiments, six of which were registered in advance to provide clarity.

Researchers initially investigated any differences between men and women in regard to their vulnerability to sunk cost bias when it comes to matters of the heart. They enlisted the participation of 220 individuals, including 114 women, who were primarily aged 30.7 years on average, through a Chinese online survey platform. The participants were randomly divided into two distinct groups: one belonging to a romantic relationship scenario and the other to a consumption decision scenario.

In the romantic scenario, those taking part imagined they had spent over a month getting to know a potential dating partner through chat, had sent each other virtual gifts, and had organised to meet in person. Just before meeting face-to-face, they found out about a more attractive and a better-suited potential partner. They were then faced with the decision of whether to stick with their original partner or meet the new one instead.

The objective was to determine whether males tend to display a stronger sunk cost bias when it comes to romantic choices, but not when making consumer decisions. This design took account of possible confounding factors, such as perceived moral issues, which were assessed using ratings provided by the participants. This study found that men were more inclined than women to stick with a decision they had made, even if it seemed wise to change their mind, in a romantic scenario, laying the groundwork for further research.

Expanding on Study 1, the researchers investigated whether exposure to mating cues affected the tendency to persevere with a poor decision due to a sunk cost in unrelated areas, such as investments and spending choices. The study involved 231 heterosexual participants (150 women) with an average age of 25.3 years, recruited from the United States via a platform called Prolific.

Participants were randomly placed into one of two groups: a mating cue group or a control group. In the mating cue group, people judged how attractive they found images of potential dates and were asked to imagine going on a romantic date with someone they found appealing. In the control group, participants evaluated pictures of flats and were asked to imagine discussing renting the property with the landlord.

Afterwards, participants were asked to make decisions in two scenarios. In the investment scenario, they had to decide whether to continue funding a plane project that was mostly built but was now outperformed by a better alternative. In the consumption scenario, they decided between a concert for which they had a £100 ticket or a preferred concert with a £50 ticket. Mating cues significantly increased the 'sunk cost' bias among men in both scenarios, but had no impact on women, reinforcing the role of personal motives.

The researchers set up Studies 3a and 3b to establish a distinction between sunk cost bias, related to previous expenditure, and status quo bias, which is not. Study 3a involved 420 Chinese university students (233 women, with an average age of 23.1 years), recruited through a survey platform. Study 3b involved 561 participants (301 women, with an average age of 31.1 years) from the online platform Credamo.

In Study 3a, participants engaged in a task to gain a chance of winning a lottery (prior investment situation) or were provided with the lottery without their previous contributions (no prior investment situation). The attraction indicators were manipulated in the same way as in Study 2. Participants then decided whether to switch to a lottery with better odds. The research found that men’s sunk cost bias was higher in the prior investment situation when they were exposed to attraction cues, whereas no such influence was detected in the no-investment situation.

Study 3b utilised a restaurant booking scenario. In the preceding investment condition, participants had made a deposit; in the no-investment condition, they had made a free booking. As in Study 3a, displaying mating cues increased sunk cost bias in men in the prior investment condition but had no effect in the no-investment condition, thereby supporting the differentiation between sunk cost and status quo biases.

To investigate the underlying mechanism behind mating cues and sunk cost bias, the researchers conducted Studies 4a and 4b. They recruited 539 members (301 of whom were female, with an average age of 30.5 years) and 551 participants (302 of whom were female, with an average age of 30.6 years), respectively, through Credamo.

In Study 4a, participants described an upcoming activity they were planning to undertake and went through a mating cue manipulation, similar to previous studies. A mindset favouring implementation was measured with questions asking about participants' concern with detailed planning actions. The findings indicated that the presentation of mating cues strengthened a behaviour-focused mindset in men but had no such effect in women.

In Study 4b, participants' implemental mindset was manipulated. Those in the strengthened condition worked out steps to overcome a hypothetical problem, whilst those in the control condition simply described the problem. All participants then made a sunk cost decision about whether to continue a plane project. The findings revealed that an implemental mindset enhanced sunk cost bias for both men and women, demonstrating its role as a key factor.

Study 5 employed a process-by-moderation approach to verify the role of an implemental mentality in correlating mating cues and sunk cost bias. The sample comprised 572 individuals (305 females, with an average age of 31.8 years), recruited from the Sojump platform. Participants were presented with mating or control cues and then undertook an activity to alter their implemental mindset (for instance, selecting between two laptops, thereby stimulating goal-directed thinking).

People then made a decision to carry on watching a dull film after investing an hour. In a special test group, hints about interacting with a partner increased men's tendency to insist on continuing with something. However, in a separate test group where people were more focused on making things happen, the hints about a partner had no influence, as all participants seemed to be more willing to persist with the film. This outcome verified that being focused on making things happen made people more likely to do so.

The final study applied these findings in a real-world setting. The researchers collaborated with a university café, recruiting 240 Chinese students (120 females) over seven days. Participants were offered paid loyalty cards (5 RMB) with a 20% discount on coffee for two weeks. The cards featured either a romantic design (mating cue) or a neutral design (control).

The researchers monitored the use of these subscription cards and also conducted follow-up surveys to gauge participants' motivations and actions. The data showed that men who were shown romantic cards made use of their memberships more regularly, displaying a stronger tendency to persist with their investments in certain situations. In contrast, it seemed that the romantic design had no notable impact on women's behaviour, indicating distinct effects of mating motivations on investment persistence for both genders.

Together, the findings provide evidence that mating desires can have a significant impact on decision-making by activating a goal-oriented mindset, particularly among men. This mindset drives a stronger commitment to existing investments, manifesting as an irrational attachment to previous outlays, even in situations unrelated to mating.

The research points out key differences between men and women, which are rooted in how they've evolved to look for partners. Men are more likely to keep after what they want when they notice something they're interested in. These kinds of trends are not just limited to relationships - they can also be seen in the way people make choices about what to buy.

These discoveries also have significant implications for marketing and consumer behaviour, according to the researchers. For example, marketers could utilise romantic cues to enhance men's commitment to loyalty schemes or products requiring up-front investments. Nevertheless, the researchers go on to caution policymakers and consumers to be mindful of how such tactics might take advantage of psychological biases, leading to irrational financial decisions.

This paper was authored by Rui Chen, Hao Sun, Zhaoyang Guo and Haipeng (Allan) Chen.

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