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Research Status-Seekers Are Itching For a Fight In an article forthcoming in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, six researchers find that aggression, status, and sex are intri- cately related. The paper was written by Vladas Griskevicius of the Univer- sity of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis; Steven Gangestad, professor of psychology, and Joshua Tybur, psychology gradu- ate student, both of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque; Douglas Kenrick, psychology profes- sor, and Elaine Perea, psychology graduate student, both of Arizona State University in Phoenix; and Jenessa Shapiro, an assistant professor of social psychology at the Anderson School of Management at the Uni- versity of California in Los Angeles. In one experiment, researchers asked students about times they have displayed aggression and the reasons why. They found that 48 percent of men and 46 percent of women noted that concern over status or reputation was the reason for their aggression. Men were more likely than women to react with aggression in response to a trivial insult—and they were more likely to respond to that insult aggressively in the pres- ence of other men. In another experiment, research- ers asked 178 participants to read a story about competition (the quest to get a high-powered job), court- ship (a romantic first date), or a neutral event (the loss of a personal item). Participants were asked to imagine themselves in the story's scenario. Then, they were asked how they would react to someone who spilled a drink on them at a party. 52 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2009 Men who had read the competi- tion story were more likely to say they would react to that person with direct aggression, such as hit- ting or pushing. Why would men choose direct aggression, even though aggressors are rarely viewed positively? Evo- lution, say the authors. Across cultures, aggres- sion often leads to higher status; men often equate high status with the ability to attract more part- ners of higher quality. "For men," says Griskevicius, "fighting for status is akin to fighting for the survival of their genes. Not caring about status, which can be implied by backing away from a fight, can be evolution- ary suicide." RESEARCH RECOGNITIONS n Hayne Leland has won the first Stephen A. Ross Prize from the Foundation for the Advancement of Research in Financial Economics (FARFE) for his research in corporate debt pricing and capital structure. Leland is a finance professor at the Haas School of Business at the Uni- versity of California in Berkeley. The foundation, an international consor- tium of finance academics and prac- titioners, created the $100,000 prize last year to recognize and encour- age research in financial economics. Leland won the award for his 1994 Journal of Finance paper, "Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure." The study may shed some light on how men and women react to a variety of competitive environ- ments, including those in business. Griskevicius emphasizes that these experiments do not suggest that people are attracted to aggres- sion—only that they're concerned about their status in a group. The paper, "Aggress to Impress: Hostility as an Evolved Context- Dependent Strategy," can be found at www.carlson school.umn.edu/ marketinginstitute/vgriskevicius. Roadblocks for VCs in Latin America Venture capitalists who want to conduct business in Latin America may face a number of obstacles because of the region's lack of governmental and cultural support for their activ- ity, according to a study by Garry Bruton, a management professor n Two inaugural fellows have been appointed to the AIC Insti- tute for Corporate Citizenship at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management in Canada. Anita McGahan, Rotman Chair in Management and profes- sor of strategic management, will receive ongoing support for her research into the inception of new industries and their implications for health delivery, pharmaceuti- cals, medical devices, and energy. Yue Li, associate professor of accounting, will receive support for his research in areas such as envi- ronmental accounting, voluntary disclosure and capital markets, and IPO valuation.