Even when men and women perform similarly on the task, studies show, women are less likely to choose to enter the tournament. In the “other” condition, in which participants who chose to compete did so against another person, we saw the usual pattern: Men were significantly more willing to compete than women and, as a result, walked away with more money. In the “self” condition, however, women were just as likely as men to choose to compete, to try to beat their own previous score. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyWhy is it that women do not choose to compete against others, but are eager to compete when the opponent is themselves? Previous research has also shown that women are more willing to compete against other women than to compete against men.

Source: New York Times February 24, 2017 15:27 UTC