How did the media interpret recent research by Professor Bruno S. Frey, David A. Savage and Professor Benno Torgler?

Noblesse Oblige? Determinants of Survival in a Life and Death Situation

The researchers found that survival on the Titanic was higher if you were a child, a woman of child bearing age because "women & children" were given priority access to lifeboats.

However, the Press drew bizarre conclusions:

The Press read the following into the researchers results:  

'Englishmen on Titanic less likely to survive than Americans 'due to good manners' http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1124162/How-good-manners-cost-Britons-lives-doomed-Titanic.html

‘Polite Poms 'had no chance on Titanic' http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/802639

‘Britons were more likely to surrender their spots on the scarce lifeboats to women and children, and queued for places, while American passengers, concerned for their own survival, displayed brasher behaviour' http://news.scotsman.com/uk/As-stricken-Titanic-sank-the.4895763.jp

Even our monopolistic-less-than-illustrious local paper got into the act:

‘POMMY good manners cost them their lives on the Titanic as they politely queued for lifeboats while Americans pushed to the front to escape the doomed liner' http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24942674-5013016,00.html

While, the press appeared to be more interested in the readership that could be generated by destroying trans-Atlantic friendships, they completely missed the most interesting finding. The Economists' didn't:

‘It turns out that when the boat is going under you can rely on your fellow passengers but otherwise stay closely behind the crew and see what they do.' http://economics.com.au/?p=1845

It appears the crew had inside information, they had an above average survival rate.  Perhaps the crew found out that the Titanic was going to sink before the passengers and hot-footed it to the lifeboats, first!  Looks like, in a market for survival in a life and death situation created by an external and unpredictable shock, our survival is enhanced when we have complete information.

The press silliness continues in the more complete list of quotes that can be accessed via the URL list at the end of this article.  For those normal folks who would like to draw their own conclusions, read the abstract below, or access the complete journal article via:  http://ideas.repec.org/p/qut/dpaper/237.html  

Noblesse Oblige? Determinants of Survival in a Life and Death Situation

Bruno S. Frey,  David A. Savage and Benno Torgler

QUT Working/Discussion Paper # 237

http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=23250

Abstract:

This paper explored the determinants of survival in a life and death situation created by an external and unpredictable shock. We are interested to see whether pro-social behaviour matters in such extreme situations. We therefore focus on the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a quasi-natural experiment do provide behavioural evidence which is rare in such a controlled and life threatening event. The empirical results support that social norm such as "women and children first" survive in such an environment. We also observe that women of reproductive age have a higher probability of surviving among women. On the other hand, we observe that crew members used their information advantage and their better access to resources (e.g. lifeboats) to generate a higher probability of surviving. The paper also finds that passenger class, fitness, group size, and cultural background matter.

URL's to press on this journal article:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4824478a23881.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23623424-details/Good+manners+sank+Britons+on+the+Titanic/article.do

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1124162/How-good-manners-cost-Britons-lives-doomed-Titanic.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4297251/Englishmen-on-Titanic-less-likely-to-survive-than-Americans-due-to-good-manners.html

http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=23250

http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/36091

http://www.elu24.ee/?id=71147

http://www.rosario3.com/noticias/enserio/noticias.aspx?idNot=44009

http://kolber.typepad.com/ethics_law_blog/2008/11/noblesse-oblige.html

http://politiken.dk/videnskab/article632389.ece

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/more-britons-than-americans-died-on-titanic-because-they-queued-1452299.html

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/polite-poms-had-no-chance-on-titanic/2009/01/14/1231608777963.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7843154.stm

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24942674-5013016,00.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23623424-details/Good+manners+sank+Britons+on+the+Titanic/article.do

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/As-stricken-Titanic-sank-the.4895763.jp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1124162/How-good-manners-cost-Britons-lives-doomed-Titanic.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2153727.ece

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Manners_may_cost_you_your_life&in_article_id=491228&in_page_id=34

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=268059&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20

http://economics.com.au/?p=1845