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“Countless studies show that in highly stressful times, men typically consume more alcohol and pornography, while women turned to sweets for their binging,” according to Dr. Enav Friedmann, head of the BGU Marketing Lab at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, who collaborated with Gal Gutman, a BGU Ph.D. student, and Dr. Gil Peleg from Yeshiva University. “The COVID-19 pandemic has upended these assumptions as our research debunks the commonly accepted perceptions of various stereotypical behaviors. Under pressure, we are more alike.”
In the ongoing research project, Dr. Friedmann conducted a survey of 115 participants in the United Kingdom (46 men and 69 women) on their consumption habits. An additional experiment to measure facial responses was also conducted using special sensors.
“Previous research stressed the biological differences between men and women, but the stress from the pandemic has caused both sexes to be flooded with emotions that neutralize gender consumer behavior and lower emotional regulation,” Dr. Friedmann says. The stress allows us, in effect, to see the automatic behavior stripped of its gendered expectations.”
The researchers found that among men, stress led to low emotional regulation and increased chocolate consumption but didn’t change their consumption of porn or alcohol. Among women, similar low emotional deregulation led to increased alcohol and porn consumption, but gobbling sweets was consistent.
Friedmann called this taboo-breaking impulse a “disruption of inhibition,” and claims that it is caused by people lacking the cognitive energy to apply stereotypical gendered norms to their behavior during times of stress.
“Marketers assumed that women and men act differently, so they focused their marketing based on gender segmentation,” Friedman says. “From now until restoration of the world order, marketers may have to rethink the approach that alcohol and porn are categories that are consumed more by men compared to sweets that are consumed more by women.”
The paper will be submitted shortly for publication.
About American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion’s vision: creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University’s expertise locally and around the globe. Activities include showcasing BGU’s academic excellence and cutting-edge research through educational programs, events and informative communications. AABGU’s main purpose is to support Ben-Gurion’s vision and the university that bears his name by creating a community of Americans committed to improving the world tomorrow from the heart of the Israeli desert today. For more information visit www.aabgu.org.