Outwit Outplay Outlast

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I was into the first few episodes of this season of Survivor since it was men vs. women and I wanted to see if it would reveal any of the sex differences that we know exist.

The game encourages deceit and back-stabbing, which appeals to the dark side of women and is opposed to the loyalty and turstworthiness that men need in order to co-operate in the real world. If someone fails to live up to these expectations, there are more serious consequences than being voted out and losing the opportunity to win the cash prize. In the political realm there can be disloyalty and deceit on the part of the men who hold power towards one another. Such behavior may deserve to be called "Machiavellian." But are women more likely than men to engage in such practices in their personal relationships or get away with it? Certainly the viewer witnesses a lot of cattiness among the women, and to a degree the men show this as well. This may be understandable in so far as the normal methods for resolving conflict between men (other than direct confrontation) are not available. (Lowering of status, exile, and so on - real enforcement of conduct and punishments.)

Survivor does not replicate the Hobbesian state of nature - if it did, there might be actual violence as a ramification for betrayal. The "society" is artificial; there is a common purpose, winning the cash prize, but that is it. There is no genuine common good, since the cash prize for which all are ultimately competing is a private (not shared) good, so the contestants do not resemble a true primitive community, whose members live and co-operate with one another for the sake of the group and the friendships of which it is composed.

How deep are the friendships that are formed, when interactions are part of the game and subject to the rules of the game? There may be some history of living together after a few weeks, but can there be reasonable trust among the competitotrs? Why cheering on a team if it does not reflect one's actual alliances? The team is a mere instrument to winning.


Christina Cha is probably the most attractive woman this season. Her website.

Edit: VIDEO Christina Cha Survivor: One World Interview — ‘I Was Totally Playing The Game’