Discrimination and behavioral impact of gender group composition in a competitive game show setting

Sammanfattning: Despite the topicality of gender and discrimination issues in the current public debate, research on these issues in a non-experimental setting is conspicuously absent in behavioral economics. Hence, this study attempts to fill this gap by investigating a number of hypotheses regarding 1) discrimination in terms of age, gender, education and place of residence as well as 2) whether a person's behavior shifts with the gender composition of the group. This two-headed approach makes it possible to draw connections to gender gaps in e.g. the labor market. The analysis is based on data from 320 episodes of the Swedish quiz game show Vem vet mest. Results show that academics discriminate against workers. Additionally, the results demonstrate that men behave more competitively in an all-male group and women behave pointedly less competitively in an all-female group. In mixed gender groups, the behavior between men and women do not differ. This is an indication that previous studies might have overlooked the role of gender group composition in explaining competitive behavior.