In this project, we manipulate the public observability of forecasts and outcomes of a physical task. We explore how these manipulations affect overconfidence (OC). Participants in the experiment are asked to hold a weight after predicting how long they think they could do it for. Comparing the prediction and outcome times (in seconds) yields a measure of OC. We independently vary two dimensions of public observability (of the outcome and of the prediction). Additionally, we manipulate incentives to come up with an accurate prediction. This design allows us to shed light on the mechanism behind male and female OC. Following the existing literature, we formulate several hypotheses regarding the differences in predictions and outcomes for males and females in the presence of the public observability of predictions and outcomes. Our experimental data do not provide support to most of the hypotheses: in particular, there is no evidence of a gender gap in overconfidence. The most robust finding that emerges from our results is that incentives on making correct predictions increase participants’ forecasts on their own performance (by about 24%) and their actual performance as well, but to a lower extent (by about 8%); in addition, incentives to predict correctly in fact increase error for females (by about 33%).

We perform a meta analysis of gender differences in the standard windfall gains dictator game (DG) by collecting raw data from 53 studies with 117 conditions, giving us 15,016 unique individual observations. We find that women on average give 4 percentage points more than men (Cohen’s $d=0.16$), and that this difference decreases to $3.1\%$ points (Cohen’s $d=0.13$) if we exclude studies where dictators can only give all or nothing. The gender difference is larger if the recipient in the DG is a charity, compared to the standard DG with an anonymous individual as the recipient (a 10.9 versus a $2.3\%$ points gender difference). These effect sizes imply that many individual studies on gender differences are underpowered; the median power in our sample of standard DG studies is only $9\%$ to detect the meta-analytic gender difference at the $5\%$ significance level. Moving forward on this topic, sample sizes should thus be substantially larger than what has been the norm in the past.

Peer victimization and depressive symptoms are highly relevant risks during adolescence. Understanding the dynamic patterns of interactions between peer victimization and depressive symptoms as well as gender differences in these variables can improve intervention strategies for adolescents navigating this critical transition period. In the present study, a large sample of Chinese adolescents reported peer victimization and depressive symptoms in four survey waves at six-month intervals. A total of 2534 adolescents (51.9% boys, M = 12.98 ± 0.60 years) were included in the latent change score (LCS) analysis. The results supported the reciprocal effects model obtained in the full sample. Changes in peer victimization were influenced by prior changes in depressive symptoms over time, and changes in depressive symptoms were influenced by prior levels of peer victimization. There were also gender differences, with boys exhibiting depressive symptom-driven effects on peer victimization, while girls exhibiting peer victimization-induced depressive symptoms. The dynamic relationships between peer victimization and depressive symptoms that promote and constrain each other in adolescents are elucidated in this study. Differentiating effects on boys and girls is crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of practical interventions.

Recent developments in text style transfer have led this field to be more highlighted than ever. There are many challenges associated with transferring the style of input text such as fluency and content preservation that need to be addressed. In this research, we present PGST, a novel Persian text style transfer approach in the gender domain, composed of different constituent elements. Established on the significance of parts of speech tags, our method is the first that successfully transfers the gendered linguistic style of Persian text. We have proceeded with a pre-trained word embedding for token replacement purposes, a character-based token classifier for gender exchange purposes, and a beam search algorithm for extracting the most fluent combination. Since different approaches are introduced in our research, we determine a trade-off value for evaluating different models’ success in faking our gender identification model with transferred text. Our research focuses primarily on Persian, but since there is no Persian baseline available, we applied our method to a highly studied gender-tagged English corpus and compared it to state-of-the-art English variants to demonstrate its applicability. Our final approach successfully defeated English and Persian gender identification models by 45.6% and 39.2%, respectively.

Involuntary retirement is associated with diminished mental health. However, little is known about the mechanism that connects involuntary retirees' coping resources to their loneliness. Gender patterns in the mechanism of involuntary retirement are also unclear. This study examines gender differences in the link between involuntary retirement and loneliness through secondary stressors (material and physical vulnerability) and coping resources (social support and self-efficacy). Two-step structural equation modelling was used to examine the effects of several mediators. For both men and women, involuntary retirement was associated with increased loneliness in terms of physical vulnerability and social efficacy. We found the female involuntary retirees are facing loneliness with multiple mediating factors. The layers of experiencing loneliness among female retirees are (a) directly from involuntary retirement; (b) indirectly from involuntary retirement and secondary stressors (material vulnerability and physical vulnerability); and (c) indirectly from involuntary retirement, secondary stressors (material vulnerability and physical vulnerability) and coping resources. The specific gender differences in the complex mechanism leading to later-year loneliness among the retirees may inform the interventions and policies that mitigate the disadvantages among involuntarily retired older adults in the United States of America.

When governments and healthcare providers offer people cash rewards for weight loss, an assumption is that cash rewards are versatile, working equally well for everyone – for example, for all genders. No research to date has tested for gender difference in response to financial incentives for weight loss. We show in an randomized controlled trial (RCT) (n = 472) that cash incentives for weight loss only worked for males. The RCT consisted of a 3-month, self-administered online weight loss program. Offering a US$150 incentive for a 5% weight loss more than tripled the proportion of males who were successful, compared with a no-incentive Control arm (20.9% vs. 5.9%). On average, males in the incentive arm lost 2.4% of weight over 3 months, compared with 0.9% in the Control arm. The same incentive had no such effect on females: The average weight loss in the incentive arm was not significantly different than in the Control (1.03% and 1.44%, respectively), nor was the proportion of participants meeting the 5% weight loss goal (8.6% and 8.7%, respectively). This study shows that males respond better than females to financial incentives for weight loss.

Increasing evidence has shown that an active, socially engaged lifestyle in leisure time might protect older adults against the decline of cognitive function. It remains unclear, however, which types of leisure activities are more beneficial to maintain cognitive function, and whether there are gender differences in the association between leisure activities and cognitive function. We used a two-wave of panel data from 1,018 older adults aged 60 and older in rural China to examine the lag effects of different types of leisure activities on cognitive functioning and to identify the gender differences in their impacts on cognition in rural China. Ordinary least-squares regression models showed that high physical activities were associated with better cognitive function. High intensity of cognitive activities and engaging in physical activities have a protective effect on cognitive function among older men rather than older women. Further, we found that cognitive activities had a stronger effect on cognitive function among older men than older women. It is important to consider gender-specific intervention in leisure activities to maintain cognitive function among older adults.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression reported by high-school students of a Greek provincial town. One thousand and eighty students (587 males and 497 females) of the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades completed among other psychometric instruments, the DSSI/sAD (Delusions Symptoms States Inventory/states of Anxiety and Depression) an inventory measuring symptoms of anxiety and depression. On the anxiety scale 24.5% of males and 56.4% of the females reported scores above the cut-off point, whereas 10.3% of males and 30.9% of females were very high scorers. On the depression scale, 33.4% of males and 60.6% of females reported scores above the cut-off point, whereas 13.9% of the boys and 31.1% of girls reported very high scores. Both boys and girls reported more elevated scores on the depression scale but the sex differences were more pronounced on the anxiety scale particularly in the group of high scorers. A weak positive relationship between age and dysthymic symptoms was detected in females. The findings encourage discussion on topics regarding not only the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescence, but also the gender differences detected, the relationship between age and mood disorders in adolescence, the degree of diagnostic certainty of the self-report instrument used and the possible meaning of the low, medium, and high scores reported by the participants. It is proposed that data of this kind may be of some value in future comparative studies regarding small European cities.

This study investigated the reciprocal relationship between parental caregiving and labour force participation to determine whether (1) caregiving related to subsequent employment; (2) employment related to subsequent caregiving; (3) caregiving and labour force participation had a reciprocal relationship across time; and (4) gender differences existed in these relationships. A cross-lagged panel design was applied with structural equation modeling. The study sample included adult children aged 51 or older with living parents or parents-in-law. No reciprocal relationship was found between caregiving and labour force participation, but gender differences were evident. Women caregivers in 2006 were less likely to be working in 2008, whereas employment status was not related to subsequent caregiving. In contrast, men working in 2008 were less likely to be caregiving in 2010, whereas caregiving was not related to subsequent employment status. Findings suggest that gender plays an important role in the relationship between caregiving and labour force participation.

Although oxytocin has been shown to enhance trust behavior, to date no study has directly established whether oxytocin can modulate the effect of repair strategies on restoring damaged trust. In the current double-blind, between-subjects, placebo-controlled design study, two repair strategies were used to examine the effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on modulating trust restoration in a revised trust game. The results showed that although oxytocin had no overall effect on modulating trust restoration, it did have a significant gender specific effect. Female subjects showed less evidence for trust repair in the oxytocin compared with the placebo treatment group. This suggests that oxytocin may make female subjects exhibit more punitive behavior towards partners who violate their trust and less sensitive to repair strategies provided by them. Interestingly, this gender specific effect was more evident in the context of attempted trust repair using financial compensation. However, it also extended to both apology alone and no compensation conditions, but not to the fair one, in females exhibiting high trait forgiveness. Thus females with a more forgiving attitude towards betrayal may actually be more likely to punish betrayal following oxytocin treatment.

Background: This study investigates discrepancies between the confidence expressed by Korean elders in their balance and their actual physical performances according to sex and age. It also attempts to identify the factors responsible for such gaps or discrepancies.

Methods: The Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging (KLoSHA) was designed as a population-based prospective cohort study on the health and aging of Korean adults aged 65 years and over. We evaluated 1000 of 1118 randomly selected subjects in terms of activities-specific balance confidence (ABC) and performance in regard to balance and gait (POMA). Activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were assessed to measure disability. Pain-related dysfunctions, depression and cognitive functions were assessed. Next, we assessed the relationship between balance confidence and physical performance and functioning by sex and age.

Results: The balance confidence of elderly women was lower than that of elderly men, although the physical performances of men and women under the age of 80 were similar. Women showed increased functional disability related to lower extremity pain and closely associated with balance confidence. However, psychological variables such as depression and cognitive functioning did not affect balance confidence.

Conclusion: We found a discrepancy between balance confidence and physical performance according to sex and age among Koreans elders. Low balance confidence among women elders was correlated with pain-related dysfunctions other than those reflected in POMA scores. Therefore, enhancing confidence and controlling pain as a means of preventing disability should be emphasized when developing models for maintaining and promoting health in elders.