Interesting Results
Gender Differences in Risk Taking
As casual observation suggests and empirical research confirms, men are more prone to taking particular types of risks than women. But why is that? A 2006 study1 indicates that for at least three types of risks (related to gambling, health, and recreation), on average:
- Women perceive a greater probability of negative outcomes associated with taking risks.
- Women perceive that the severity of negative outcomes associated with risks will be greater if they do occur. (This applied to gambling and health risks only — not to risks associated with recreational activities.)
- Men expect to enjoy the risky activity more if a negative outcome does not occur.
The researchers also discovered that the pattern for social risk taking (e.g., asking someone for a date or disagreeing with a friend) is less clear because it is more dependent on the particular type of social risk in question.
1 Harris, Christine R., Michael Jenkins, Dale Glaser (2006), “Gender Differences in Risk Assessment: Why do Women Take Fewer Risks than Men?”, Judgement and Decision Making, 1(1), 48-63.