Visceral Influences and Gender Difference in Competitiveness

Abstract

Building on the much-celebrated sex-specific hypothesis on visceral responses, here we examine whether the well-replicated gender difference in competitiveness may be influenced by the visceral responses. In the first experiment, we show that the gender difference in competitiveness is partially explained by the arousal of sex hormones. In the second experiment, we observe that the gender gap is reduced by introducing a resting period. Our results contribute to literature on gender difference in the willingness to compete and suggest that mitigating visceral influences is beneficial for gender equality.

Keywords: tournament, piece rate, competitiveness, visceral influences, sex hormone, gender difference, experiment

JEL Classification: C91, D91, J16