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A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior

Author

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  • Katherine B. Coffman
  • Paola Ugalde Araya
  • Basit Zafar

Abstract

Many decisions – such as what educational or career path to pursue – are dynamic in nature, with individuals receiving feedback at one point in time and making decisions later. Using a controlled experiment, with two sessions one week apart, we analyze the dynamic effects of feedback on beliefs about own performance and decision-making across two different domains (verbal skills and math). We find significant gender gaps in beliefs and choices before feedback: men are more optimistic about their performance and more willing to compete than women in both domains, but the gaps are significantly larger in math. Feedback significantly shifts individuals' beliefs and choices. Despite this, we see substantial persistence of gender gaps over time. This is particularly true among the set of individuals who receive negative feedback. We find that, holding fixed performance and decisions before feedback, women update their beliefs and choices more negatively than men do after bad news. Our results highlight the challenges involved in overcoming gender gaps in dynamic settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherine B. Coffman & Paola Ugalde Araya & Basit Zafar, 2021. "A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior," NBER Working Papers 29382, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29382
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    Cited by:

    1. Barron, Kai & Ditlmann, Ruth & Gehrig, Stefan & Schweighofer-Kodritsch, Sebastian, 2020. "Explicit and implicit belief-based gender discrimination: A hiring experiment," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economics of Change SP II 2020-306, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. Noor Kumar & Uyseok Lee & Matt Lowe & Olaitan Ogunnote & Matthew Lowe, 2024. "Internal Versus Institutional Barriers to Gender Equality: Evidence from British Politics," CESifo Working Paper Series 11358, CESifo.
    3. Pauline Charousset & Marion Monnet, 2022. "Gendered Teacher Feedback, Students' Math Performance and Enrollment Outcomes: A Text Mining Approach," PSE Working Papers halshs-03733956, HAL.
    4. Andrea Amelio & Florian Zimmermann, 2023. "Motivated Memory in Economics—A Review," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, January.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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