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Who REALLY Wants To Be A Millionaire: Game Show Contestant Behavior Under Risk

Daniel K. N. Johnson
Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business

Tracy R. Gleason
Wellesley College - Psychology

November 2005

Colorado College Working Paper No. 2005-02

Abstract:
On the popular game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", men appear to average higher winnings than women. This paper investigates potential reasons, including different uses of information sources (lifelines) and different perceptions of risk. We include gender-based tests of Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory, but offer instead the counterintuitive conclusion that men are rewarded for acting slightly more cautiously than women do.

Keywords: risk, aversion, prospect theory, gender, Kahneman, Tversky, game show

JEL Classifications: D1, D81, D83

Working Paper Series

Date posted: November 15, 2005 ; Last revised: February 17, 2006

Suggested Citation

Johnson, Daniel K. N. and Gleason, Tracy R., Who REALLY Wants To Be A Millionaire: Game Show Contestant Behavior Under Risk (November 2005). Colorado College Working Paper No. 2005-02. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=847848

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Contact Information

Daniel Kent Neil Johnson (Contact Author) Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business ( email ) Colorado Springs, CO 80903 United States 719-389-6654 (Phone) 719-389-6927 (Fax) HOME PAGE: http://faculty1.coloradocollege.edu/~djohnson
Tracy R. Gleason Wellesley College - Psychology ( email ) Wellesley, MA 02181 United States

Abstract

References (27)

Date posted: November 15, 2005 ; Last revised: February 17, 2006

Suggested Citation

Contact Information

Daniel Kent Neil Johnson (Contact Author)

Tracy R. Gleason