Bulletin: Men, Woman still different
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2003 2:37 pm
Yet another researcher has found that men and women are different. But this particular research into the men/women difference thing might actually explain some things we didn't already know. Or the research might be a load of - well, you be the judge.
New research at the University of Chicago finds that men improve their performance when competition is involved, but women don't - generally speaking of course.
At the University of Chicago's business school, Uri Gneezy and a group of colleagues found that women and men have different attitudes toward competition. In one study, groups of students were paid to solve simple maze problems on a computer:
· In some groups, everybody was paid 50 cents per problem solved; in others, a payment of $3 per problem went only to the individual who solved the most mazes. Female performance was much the same in both groups; but in the second lot, the average man did about 50 percent better than in the first -- indicating (according to the researchers) that competition is motivational for men, but not for women.
A second study, of physical tasks, showed similar results:
· When nine- and ten-year-old children ran a race alone, boys and girls clocked similar speeds. When children raced in pairs, girls' speed hardly altered. But boys ran faster when paired with a boy, and faster still when racing against a girl.
Gneezy believes this helps explain why men are more likely than women to get the top jobs in a company. If it's true that men thrive on competition and women don't, men will disproportionately win the top jobs when the jobs are awarded on the basis of performance, unless the woman is naturally a better performer.
There are at least two competing conclusions one might draw from the research, apart from trying to explain inequities in the work force.
The motivational tool (competition) that has been used forever in the business world doesn't work for women, and business colleges need to do more research to determine what does entice women to improve their performance.
Women naturally perform at their peak, and don't need any additional motivation to be more productive.
If option two is incorrect, and the research is valid, women can improve their standing in the office simply by telling us what does motivate them. If not competition, what? Inquiring male minds want to know.
New research at the University of Chicago finds that men improve their performance when competition is involved, but women don't - generally speaking of course.
At the University of Chicago's business school, Uri Gneezy and a group of colleagues found that women and men have different attitudes toward competition. In one study, groups of students were paid to solve simple maze problems on a computer:
· In some groups, everybody was paid 50 cents per problem solved; in others, a payment of $3 per problem went only to the individual who solved the most mazes. Female performance was much the same in both groups; but in the second lot, the average man did about 50 percent better than in the first -- indicating (according to the researchers) that competition is motivational for men, but not for women.
A second study, of physical tasks, showed similar results:
· When nine- and ten-year-old children ran a race alone, boys and girls clocked similar speeds. When children raced in pairs, girls' speed hardly altered. But boys ran faster when paired with a boy, and faster still when racing against a girl.
Gneezy believes this helps explain why men are more likely than women to get the top jobs in a company. If it's true that men thrive on competition and women don't, men will disproportionately win the top jobs when the jobs are awarded on the basis of performance, unless the woman is naturally a better performer.
There are at least two competing conclusions one might draw from the research, apart from trying to explain inequities in the work force.
The motivational tool (competition) that has been used forever in the business world doesn't work for women, and business colleges need to do more research to determine what does entice women to improve their performance.
Women naturally perform at their peak, and don't need any additional motivation to be more productive.
If option two is incorrect, and the research is valid, women can improve their standing in the office simply by telling us what does motivate them. If not competition, what? Inquiring male minds want to know.
