Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/103901 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
SFB/TR 15 Discussion Paper No. 457
Publisher: 
Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 15 - Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems (GESY), München
Abstract: 
We analyze how subjects' self-assessment depends on whether its accuracy is observable to others. We find that women downgrade their self-assessment given observability while men do not. Women avoid the shame they may have if others observe that they overestimated themselves. Men, however, do not seem to be similarly shame-averse. This gender difference may be due to different societal expectations: While we find that men are expected to be overconfident, women are not. Shame-aversion may explain recent findings that women shy away from competition, demanding jobs and wage negotiations, as entering these situations shows a certain confidence of one's ability.
Subjects: 
Gender
Shame
Self-confidence
Overconfidence
Experiment
JEL: 
C91
D03
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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