Error management theory: a new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading
- PMID: 10653507
- DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.1.81
Error management theory: a new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading
Abstract
A new theory of cognitive biases, called error management theory (EMT), proposes that psychological mechanisms are designed to be predictably biased when the costs of false-positive and false-negative errors were asymmetrical over evolutionary history. This theory explains known phenomena such as men's overperception of women's sexual intent, and it predicts new biases in social inference such as women's underestimation of men's commitment. In Study 1 (N = 217), the authors documented the commitment underperception effect predicted by EMT. In Study 2 (N = 289), the authors replicated the commitment bias and documented a condition in which men's sexual overperception bias is corrected. Discussion contrasts EMT with the heuristics and biases approach and suggests additional testable hypotheses based on EMT.
Similar articles
-
Evidence of systematic bias in sexual over- and underperception of naturally occurring events: a direct replication of Haselton (2003) in a more gender-equal culture.Evol Psychol. 2014 Nov 17;12(5):1004-21. doi: 10.1177/147470491401200510. Evol Psychol. 2014. PMID: 25402231 Free PMC article.
-
"I'm not gay. . . . I'm a real man!": Heterosexual Men's Gender Self-Esteem and Sexual Prejudice.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2009 Sep;35(9):1233-43. doi: 10.1177/0146167209338072. Epub 2009 Jul 1. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2009. PMID: 19571277
-
Functional flexibility in women's commitment-skepticism bias.Evol Psychol. 2015 Apr 2;13(2):283-98. doi: 10.1177/147470491501300201. Evol Psychol. 2015. PMID: 25835052 Free PMC article.
-
The paranoid optimist: an integrative evolutionary model of cognitive biases.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006;10(1):47-66. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr1001_3. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006. PMID: 16430328 Review.
-
An underexamined inequality: cultural and psychological barriers to men's engagement with communal roles.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2015 Nov;19(4):343-70. doi: 10.1177/1088868314564789. Epub 2015 Jan 9. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2015. PMID: 25576312 Review.
Cited by
-
Terrorism as Coalitional Predation: Explaining Definitional Ambiguities and Precautionary Responses.Evol Psychol. 2024 Apr-Jun;22(2):14747049241263995. doi: 10.1177/14747049241263995. Evol Psychol. 2024. PMID: 39051590 Free PMC article.
-
Evidence from hunter-gatherer and subsistence agricultural populations for the universality of contagion sensitivity.Evol Hum Behav. 2018 May;39(3):355-363. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.03.003. Epub 2018 Mar 8. Evol Hum Behav. 2018. PMID: 38344301 Free PMC article.
-
Repercussions of Rejecting Unwanted Advances: Gender Differences in Experience and Concern.Int J Sex Health. 2023;35(1):123-129. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2023.2175098. Epub 2023 Feb 7. Int J Sex Health. 2023. PMID: 38299008 Free PMC article.
-
(Mis)Perceiving Sexual Intent: A Mixed-Method Approach Investigating Sexual Overperception Across Diverse Sexual Identities.Arch Sex Behav. 2024 Feb;53(2):511-524. doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02748-7. Epub 2023 Dec 8. Arch Sex Behav. 2024. PMID: 38066352
-
Are you tired of "us?" Accuracy and bias in couples' perceptions of relational boredom.J Soc Pers Relat. 2023 Oct;40(10):3091-3120. doi: 10.1177/02654075231168141. Epub 2023 Apr 3. J Soc Pers Relat. 2023. PMID: 37970464 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources