• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

New Psychology Study Suggests Middle-Aged Men Are Likely A-Holes

by Zenger News
April 21, 2022
26
SHARES
525
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

A building at the University of Georgia, in Athens, USA, where the study was done.(Zenger)



By Martin M Barillas

A new study by psychologists has suggested that the “biggest a**holes” are white, “typically middle-aged,” and “predominantly male”.


It has also claimed that they closely resemble psychopaths and narcissists.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Led by University of Georgia grad student and co-author Brinkley M. Sharpe, the study looked at what insults say about how people view others’ objectionable views and behaviors.

Earlier research had already found that insults, such as “b*tch,” “d*ck,” and “a**hole,” are used to characterize people noted for “low agreeableness.”

The 397 participants in the study used the Five-Factor Model of personality to describe the “biggest a**holes” in their lives, which according to the study, are “typically middle-aged, predominantly male, and included romantic partners, coworkers, bosses, family members, and friends.”

According to the study, the characteristics of the so-called a**holes resembled profiles of “psychopathic, antisocial, and narcissistic personality disorders.”

Among the bothersome behaviors, the participants reported were “manipulation, aggression, irresponsibility, and entitlement.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Some of the participants complained that a**holes include people who voted for President Donald Trump or did not wear face masks as required by the authorities during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Researchers also found that approximately half of the “a**holes” were participants’ former romantic partners, former bosses, or estranged family members.

But the researchers said that this finding does not necessarily mean that, for example, respondents’ former romantic partners have a personality disorder.

Sharpe said: “People didn’t really have very much trouble figuring out who the ‘biggest a**hole’ in their life was.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

She added: “On average, participants didn’t think that they were very close to these individuals, which makes sense because these people are being described as having pretty aversive behaviors.”

In response to an email request, Sharpe affirmed that, for 79 percent of the participants, the biggest a**hole in their lives was a man, averaging 43 years in age.

Participants in the study were asked what their relationship was with the “a**holes” and to list the top three objectionable behaviours.

A building at the University of Georgia, in Athens, USA, where the study was done. (Zenger)

Sharpe noted that about 85 percent of participants were white, while 9 percent were black, and 12 percent were Native American or Alaskan Native. The Latino category was about 7.5 percent.

The study found that participants believed that the a**holes in their lives were aware of their behavior, but did not care to change.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Noting that objectionable behavior can “run the gamut,” Sharpe said that respondents described an a**hole as anyone “who is not agreeable and is angry.”

She added that a**holes are “not necessarily being antagonistic toward people, but they just didn’t really care about what others were thinking or how they were perceived by others.”

According to the authors, a**holes struggle with anger and are “irresponsible and held bigoted views.”

When asked whether women are more likely to refer to men as a**holes, Sharpe responded that the study was intended to examine “personality traits and behaviors individuals associate” with others, but does not “speak to whether any demographic group is more or less likely to call members of another demographic group ‘a**holes.’”

While saying that the study does not conclude that “more a**holes are middle-aged men,” Sharpe said that “it appears that the ‘biggest a**shole’ in someone’s life is likely to be a man.

This is based, she said, on differences between men and women regarding ‘agreeableness’ and shows that “women are, on average, more agreeable than men.”

In a breakdown of the data, Sharpe showed that about 67 percent of women and 89 percent of men “identified a man as the ‘biggest a**hole’ in their life, respectively.”

She said this means that even “men were actually more likely to see a man as the biggest a**hole. “

Professor Stephanie Preston of the University of Michigan, a psychologist who focuses on empathy and decision-making, said that the study has “major limitations.”

Among the problems she saw is that “a**hole” in itself is biased commonly toward males, which she noted the study also recognized.

She also said that the participants in the sample are about the same age as typical a**holes identified by the study.

Another limitation in the study, she said, is that the relationships people have with others are most frequently with those of a similar age.

A building at the University of Georgia, in Athens, USA, where the study was done. (Zenger)

Because of this, Preston found the paper a “little tautological” as it tests a word that describes men in a sample of middle-aged people who say that the a**holes they know are middle-aged men.

While recognizing that the overlap with psychopaths or sociopaths is not surprising, Preston found that the study has real data but its methods “do not allow us to discern the truth about the prototype of an a**hole…”

What Preston found interesting about the study, however, was that the characteristics of a**holes “can be equated with poor empathy.”

While the study co-authors focus on the negative, Preston sees that it also shows that “people value and weigh the empathy of others in interpersonal settings very strongly.”

She added: “Empathy is thought to have evolved as a form of glue in human social group life.”

She said finally that few people are terrible or amazing at empathy, while “most of us are somewhere in the middle.”

However, she warned that a “population cannot sustain more than a minority of a**holes or psychopaths and still survive.”

Recommended from our partners



The post New Psychology Study Suggests Middle-Aged Men Are Likely A-Holes appeared first on Zenger News.

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Iowa Man Wins 1 Million Dollars After Lottery Clerk Printed Ticket Again With Different Numbers

Next Post

One Of Europe’s Biggest Rhododendrons Aged 170 Years Reaches Full Bloom In Cornwall

Zenger News

You Might Also Like

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote
National

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area
National

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine
Local

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip
Local

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip

Ampersand Families
Employment

Human Resources Manager, ampersand families

Program Coordinator
Employment

Office Coordinator

Next Post
One of the biggest rhododendrons in Europe reaching full bloom. (James Dadzitis/Zenger)

One Of Europe’s Biggest Rhododendrons Aged 170 Years Reaches Full Bloom In Cornwall

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Oct 3
October 3 @ 8:30 am-October 4 @ 5:30 pm

Insects: Little Body, Big Impact | Nobel Conference 59 | Virtual or In-Person

Oct 4
6:00 pm-8:00 pm

An Evening with Liz Cheney

Oct 5
7:00 pm-9:00 pm

The Bombing of Cubana Flight 455: Why it Matters

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

PHOTO: Barbie back-to-school party

A Barbie back to school party.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

%d bloggers like this: