The Effect of Variation in Gender-Math Stereotype Content on Loss and Risk Averse Behavior

Financial decisions almost always involve risk and uncertainty and many factors can affect choices in this realm. Stereotype threat, defined as the “situational threat of confirming as self-relevant a negative stereotype about one’s group,” is one of these factors (Carr & Steele, 2010, p. 1411). Previous research suggests that targets of stereotype threat will experience a decrease in their attention capacity (Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). This decrease in attention capacity motivates the use of the intuitive system of decision-making, resulting in an increase in loss aversion and risk aversion behaviors in stereotype threat targets (Schmader et al., 2008). The current study aims to test the effect of different stereotype contents, manipulated by framing intelligence as either malleable or fixed, on women’s financial decision-making ability. It is hypothesized that if intelligence is presented as a malleable trait, then female participants will be less risk-averse and less loss-averse when stereotype threat is present. Participants were randomly assigned into three different conditions, the ability-based stereotype threat condition, the effort-based stereotype threat condition, and the control condition. In the ability and effort-based stereotype threat conditions, participants read a one-paragraph passage that conveys the notion of intelligence as a fixed or a malleable trait while the participants in the control condition read an unrelated passage. In addition, participants in the ability-based and the effort-based stereotype conditions completed the theories of intelligence questionnaire that served as the manipulation check (De Castella & Byrne, 2015). Then, participants completed a risk aversion and a loss aversion measure. Contrary to hypothesis, preliminary analysis revealed that there is no difference in measures of loss aversion and risk aversion between the three conditions. Data collection is still ongoing and more in-depth analyses will be conducted.