iScience· 2026Q1
Offensive unpredictability and defensive tracking in intergroup conflict show sex-differentiated patterns
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Offensive success in intergroup conflict is linked to unpredictable behavior (higher within-person variability), while defensive success relies on adaptive opponent tracking. Male participants excelled in offense with greater variability, whereas female participants excelled in defense with stronger tracking.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Offensive success in intergroup conflict is predicted by higher within-person contribution variability.
- Defensive success is associated with stronger adaptive state-tracking of opponent behavior.
- Male participants exhibited greater variability and performed better in offense.
- Female participants showed stronger tracking and performed better in defense.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Intergroup conflict poses asymmetric strategic demands: acquiring resources through offense benefits from behavior that opponents cannot easily anticipate, whereas protecting resources through defense requires monitoring opponents and adjusting to threats. Analyzing behavioral data from 528 adults in a real-time offense-defense game, we found that offensive and defensive success were predicted by different decision patterns. Offensive success was associated with greater within-person contribution variability, a potential source of unpredictability, whereas defensive success was associated with stronger adaptive state-tracking of opponent behavior. These strategies aligned with sex-differentiated behavioral patterns: male participants showed greater variability and performed better in offense, whereas female participants showed stronger tracking and performed better in defense. Together, these findings identify dissociable behavioral strategies to success in offense and defense, offering a behavioral framework for understanding sex-linked variation in competitive social behavior.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. iScience, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology