Sexism Pays? Studying It Certainly Seems To

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How dare a mere mortal ask questions of SCIENCE! Science is a pure pursuit requiring long trainning in arcane lore and right thought. No one who has not dedicated their lives can possibly understand what the priesthood of science has dicovered. The layman's only part in life is to pay for science's endeavor and be amused by the simple toys we reveal to them. They should never ask questions of things they could not possibly understand. To do so would be much the same as Nancy Pelosi suggesting he understands the teachings of the Catholic Church better than the leadership of that Church.

Walt of PA 8:10AM September 25, 2008

I'm an I/O psychologist (like the authors of this article) and let me express how uninformed it is to say that my (and their, assuredly) approximately 10 years of formal statistical and substantive training has resulted in our inability to produce anything other than "squishy" results or "a waste of money". When the popular press cherry picks findings from our literature when it sees fit, and critiques them as though we have simply written them on a cocktail napkin after a few too many beers it is entirely unfair, inaccurate, and eventually quite infuriating. Simply because you have lay theories about human nature does not mean that they are correct, and simply because you can go and read the article does not mean you can thoroughly understand the statistical methodology and theoretical background behind it. Of course all scientific articles have weaknesses, and the authors of this one describe them in detail in the article itself. The problem is when uninformed individuals with an agenda use these weaknesses to discount, rather than to contextualize and interpret, the findings.

Psych of MI 3:08PM September 24, 2008

I looked at the report of the study too, but was left with a couple of questions.
1) What kind of work did these people go into?
2) What part of the country did they grow up in and where do they work now?
From my own experience men who go into construction are (a) payed better than most and (b) are more traditional in their mindset (if you doubt this and are a vaguely pretty woman, walk by a New York construction site -- though to be honest, my Dad who was an union ironworker foreman, would have thrown the whistlers off the building for goofing off). This holds true for transportation workers (truck drivers, rail roadworkers, seamen, and aviation types.
Psychology and Sociology are squishy sciences. I'd like to look at the numbers and protocols before I put much stock in it.

Walt of PA 4:32PM September 23, 2008