But the closer the women got to the stressful event, the better their decision making became. Stressed women tended to make more advantageous decisions, looking for smaller, surer successes. Not so for the stressed men. The closer the timer got to zero, the more questionable the men’s decision making became, risking a lot for the slim chance of a big achievement.su

Not surprising that stressed men make bad decisions. We don't handle stress well.

Frankly, I think that it is a learned response in men which can likely be UNlearned.  I wonder if you agree?

It can be unlearned, but it's not easy. Most men don't have the will.

Fascinating. When applied to entrepreneurs there is a (mis)belief that women aren't risk takers. This research suggests that they might be more effective risk takers. On the other hand, perhaps some bold and seemingly crazy decisions made during moments of stress (combined with a little luck?) create the really big home runs too.

Beth, I think that's right: sometimes bad decisions made during stress lead to good results. 

I do believe women are more effective risk takers. At least, the women I know are. 

Ditto that. I do believe that men, in general, are more comfortable throwing caution to the wind.  When I co-founded my current business it seemed risky to those watching but it never for a minute felt risky to me. I don't think I would have done it if I wasn't absolutely confident of its success. In a new venture I'm involved with I'm working to push myself to take grander risks. Of course now I'm in a position to do so in which case once again they don't feel TOO risky. Ok, I'm back to calculated risks!  (I've never been a fan of the "failure is good" thing.)

Yeah, I agree that failure is not good.

You seem a lot better at figuring out which risks are worth taking. I think that's key.