Neuroticism, Harm Aversion, and Risk Taking

Cory is a behavioral scientist, the executive director of the Adversarial Collaboration Project at Penn, a visiting scholar at Penn, and an associate professor of psychology at New College of Florida. She’s also been Director of Academic Engagement for Heterodox Academy and an assistant professor of behavioral science at Durham University. We talk sex differences and the recent essay, “The Great Feminization,” by Helen Andrews.

For two clips of our convo — on the female dominance in education, and the growing power of HR — head to our YouTube page.

Other topics: growing up in a big Catholic family in Ohio; her mom a gym teacher and dad a school psychologist; the culture shock of higher ed; the different evolutionary challenges of men and women; “warriors vs worriers”; the Big Five personality traits; neuroticism and risk-aversion; the male sex drive and propensity for violence; the gendered reaction to controversial ideas; safe spaces; The Coddling of the American Mind; extended adolescence; grade inflation; anonymous reporting systems; the boom of the mental health industry; the rise of the parenting industry; women in the military; mediocre men replaced by competent women in the workforce; MeToo; the decline of yelling in newsrooms; Puritanism; aggressive nuns; Prohibition; the Larry Summers row over women in science; the hostility toward men in higher ed; young men becoming reactionary; fairness in sports and locker rooms; the DEI industry; Harris and Walz; and Trump as a crude parody of an idiot male.

Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Fiona Hill on Putin’s war, Mark Halperin on US politics, Michel Paradis on Eisenhower, Vivek Ramaswamy on the right, Jason Willick on trade and conservatism, Shadi Hamid on US power abroad, George Packer on his Orwell-inspired novel, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.