Less Macho, More Mellow: The Malleability of Competitiveness

Abstract

We investigate how the preference to compete can change based on regular interactions within gender-skewed groups. We take advantage of repeated observations on an experimental measure of competitiveness from a large sample of university students and quasi-random assignment to campus accommodation. Men living with a higher proportion of female flatmates exhibit a significant decrease in competitiveness over a one year period. There is no effect for women. Our results suggest that exposure to a gender unbalanced social environment can influence male competitive preferences even within a relatively short period of time.

Keywords: Competitive behaviour; Gender; Tournament; Experiment

JEL Classification: C91, D91, J16, J33