Believed gender differences in social preferences

Christine Exley, Oliver Hauser, Molly Moore and John-Henry Pezzuto
Additional contact information
Christine Exley: Harvard Business School, Harvard University
Molly Moore: Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
John-Henry Pezzuto: Harvard Business School, Harvard University

No 2204, Discussion Papers from University of Exeter, Department of Economics

Abstract: While there is a vast (and mixed) literature on gender differences in social preferences, little is known about believed gender differences in social preferences. Using data from 15 studies and 8,979 individuals, we find that women are believed to be more generous and more equality-oriented than men. This believed gender gap is robust across a wide range of contexts that vary in terms of strategic considerations, selfish motives, fairness concepts, and payoffs. Yet, this believed gender gap is largely inaccurate. Consistent with models of associative memory, and specifically the role of similarity and interference, the believed gender gap is correlated with recalled prior life experiences from similar contexts and significantly affected by an experience that may interfere with the recall process of prior memories even though this interfering experience should not affect the beliefs of perfect-memory Bayesians. Application studies further reveal that believed gender differences extend to the household (i.e., beliefs about contributions to the home, family, and upbringing of children), the workplace (i.e., beliefs about equal pay) and policy views (i.e., beliefs about redistribution, equal access to education, healthcare, and affordable housing).

Keywords: experiments; gender; altruism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D64 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-06-02, Revised 2024-08-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-exp, nep-gen and nep-hrm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:exe:wpaper:2204

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