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  • Working Paper

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

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Paola Ugalde Araya and Basit Zafar
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  • | Language:English
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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.

Keywords

Feedback; Beliefs; Stereotypes; Self-assessment; Gender Gap; Performance; Perception; Gender; Decision Making; Behavior

Citation

Coffman, Katherine B., Paola Ugalde Araya, and Basit Zafar. "A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29382, October 2021.
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About The Author

Katherine B. Coffman

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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More from the Authors
  • Inclusion and Diversity at Mars Petcare By: Katherine Coffman and Tom Quinn
  • Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs about COVID By: Pedro Bordalo, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer
  • Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull
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