Friday, March 9, 2018

Testosterone and Hedge Funds: Do Alpha Males Deliver Alpha? They don't.

Lu, Yan and Teo, Melvyn, Do Alpha Males Deliver Alpha? Testosterone and Hedge Funds (January 12, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3100645

Abstract: Using facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) as a proxy for testosterone, we show that high-testosterone hedge fund managers significantly underperform low-testosterone hedge fund managers after adjusting for risk. Moreover, high-testosterone managers are more likely to terminate their funds, disclose violations on their Form ADVs, and display greater operational risk. We trace the underperformance to high-testosterone managers' greater preference for lottery-like stocks and reluctance to sell loser stocks. Our results are robust to adjustments for sample selection, marital status, sensation seeking, and manager age, and suggest that investors should eschew masculine hedge fund managers.

Keywords: hedge funds, alpha, testosterone, facial width-to-height, masculine, disposition effect, operational risk

JEL Classification: G02, G23

Men perceived a more attractive female profile picture as less trustworthy, while women found a male with a more attractive profile picture to be more trustworthy

Too hot to trust: Examining the relationship between attractiveness, trustworthiness, and desire to date in online dating. Rory McGloin, Amanda Denes. New Media & Society, Volume: 20 issue: 3, page(s): 919-936. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816675440

Abstract: This study expands upon previous research by examining how the enhancement of a dating profile picture might influence perceptions of interpersonal trustworthiness and how this relationship might further influence the perceived attractiveness and desire to date the respective individual. Participants were exposed to one of four online dating profile conditions and were then asked to rate the attractiveness of the person in the profile, as well as their perceived trustworthiness. The results revealed that men in this study perceived a more attractive female profile picture as less trustworthy, while women found a male with a more attractive profile picture to be more trustworthy. An indirect effects model also revealed that perceived trustworthiness mediates the relationship between similarity and attractiveness, though these effects were not moderated by the picture manipulation itself. Finally, this study found that individuals have greater intentions to date individuals whose profile pictures are perceived as more attractive.

Keywords: Attractiveness, evolutionary theory, online dating, profile pictures, similarity, trustworthiness


Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, the magnitude of gender differences varied across cultures. Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized

Universal and Specific in the Five Factor Model of Personality. Jüri Allik and Anu Realo. In The Oxford Handbook of the Five Factor Model, edited by Thomas A. Widiger. 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199352487.013.23

Abstract: Personality psychologists—perhaps even more than in some other disciplines—are deeply interested in what is common to personality descriptions in all cultures and societies. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the potential universality of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of general personality structure. The chapter begins with a discussion of what is meant, or should be meant, by a universal. Discussed then is the empirical support, as well as the conceptual and empirical difficulty, in establishing universality in personality structure, for the FFM as well as other dimensional models. The chapter then considers different levels of analysis (including cultural and intraindividual analyses), higher-order invariants (including sex differences, age differences, and differences in perspective), and whether mean levels are universal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the basis for personality universals, as well as addressing the common challenges to universality.

Keywords: Five-Factor Model, universal, culture, personality structure, differences in perspective


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It seems this is well established:

Gender Differences in Personality Traits Across Cultures: Robust and Surprising Findings. Paul T. Costa Jr., Antonio Terracciano, and Robert R. McCrae. Journai of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001, Vol. 81, No. 2,322-331. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.81.2.322

Abstract: Secondary analyses of Revised NEO Personality Inventory data from 26 cultures (N = 23,031) suggest that gender differences are small relative to individual variation within genders; differences are replicated across cultures for both college-age and adult samples, and differences are broadly consistent with gender stereotypes: Women reported themselves to be higher in Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings, whereas men were higher in Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas. Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, the magnitude of gender differences varied across cultures. Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized. Possible explanations for this surprising finding are discussed, including the attribution of masculine and feminine behaviors to roles rather than traits in traditional cultures.

Words related to resistance to change, but not perceived threat, were related to political ideology such that conservatives were more likely to include resistance-to-change-related words in their responses compared with liberals

Brief Textual Indicators of Political Orientation. Bradley M. Okdie, Daniel M. Rempala. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X18762973

Abstract: Language reflects one’s thoughts, feelings, and worldview. Technology has led to a proliferation of brief communications. Is this brief text meaningful? We examine whether text from brief political and nonpolitical communications reflect political ideology. Student responses to their ideological foundations (Study 1), brief snippets of unanimous Supreme Court verdicts (Study 2), and celebrity tweets (Study 3) were textually analyzed to examine whether they contained perceived threat and resistance to change content and whether this predicted the authors’ political affiliation. Across three studies, words related to resistance to change, but not perceived threat, were related to political ideology such that conservatives were more likely to include resistance-to-change-related words in their responses compared with liberals. These results suggest that brief text, even when not overtly political, reflects one’s political ideology. The increase in brief text production via new technology and its ability to predict political ideology make these findings particularly meaningful.

Keywords: political orientation, computer-mediated communication, affiliation, Twitter, brief text communication