Hearts, minds, money, and trust

Newsweek is carrying a story about behavioral economics. I found these results interesting with regard to economic decision-making:

Quartz has also seen intriguing differences between men and women in the scanner. Men's brains tend to shut down after they've made their decision, awaiting a reply from the other subject. But women ... show continued activity in at least three areas—the ventral striatum (the brain's center for anticipating rewards), the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (which is involved with planning and organizing) and the caudate nucleus (a checking and monitoring region ...). Women, says Quartz, seem to obsess more over whether they did the right thing—and how the other subject will react to them.

Thus implies that there are at least two stable strategies that can be pursued. It would be premature to conclude that either emergent strategy is superior. Both likely have survival value in order to be reinforced via selection.

Also of note:

... with approximately 85 percent accuracy, the subjects, separated by the distance from Los Angeles to Texas, can guess whether they're playing against a man or a woman. They appear to be picking up on subtle clues in the interactions...

Can such differences be applied constructively to hearts and minds campaigns by the West? Perhaps one size does not fit all.