A Natural History of the Modern Mind

Cognition, relationships, and evolution.

by Kayla Causey and Aaron Goetz

Am I Supposed to Be Impressed?

By Kayla Causey and Aaron Goetz on July 23, 2009 in A Natural History of the Modern Mind

While there is no magical moment at which teenagers immediately engage in reckless abandon, we feel these anecdotes serve to illustrate the epitome of what evolutionary psychologists Margo Wilson and Martin Daly have dubbed, “Young Male Syndrome.” This is a term used to describe the propensity of males, ripened 16 to 24 years, to engage in perilous risk-taking activities, discounting safety, good judgment, and the future. During these years (and in at least one case - ahem - for years after), men feel “invincible” and adopt the “it won’t happen to me” mantra, driving their more reasonable and wiser elders to grow gray hair, wag their fingers, and taunt, “I hope you don’t learn the hard way.” Read More

I wonder how this correlates

Submitted by Anonymous on July 23, 2009 - 6:03pm.

I wonder how this correlates with risk taking behavior research by Marvin Zuckerman. It sounds like a judgment call when you already view such acts as "idiotic." Are the researchers themselves high sensation seeking people? How do you explain Danica Patrick and her aggressiveness on the track? As a racer and clinical psychologist I find that this research is rather flawed. My experience with pro drivers are that they are very intelligent as evident by Dr. Keith Johnsgard's research on Grand Prix drivers in the 60s and 70s. If you are at all a very good driver, safety is very important so you can push the limits of the car.

reply
quote

re: Danica Patrick

Submitted by Kayla Causey and Aaron Goetz on July 24, 2009 - 7:28am.

We would explain Danica Patrick as an outlier.

We don't mean to portray these behaviors (and certainly not these people) as "idiotic" in the low-IQ sense but in the sense that they are irrational and likely to lead to harm. Moreover, we take liberties to adopt a "cheeky" tone when writing our posts and can only hope that we don't offend (note that any denigrations of risk-taking behavior are mostly directed at our own recently consequential acts).

reply
quote

Post new comment

Kayla Causey is a doctoral candidate studying developmental psychology at Florida Atlantic University, and Aaron Goetz is an evolutionary psychologist at California State University, Fullerton.

more...