Psychology Seminar: Selin Kesebir (London Business School)
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO COMPETITION WITH SAME-GENDER PEERS
LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL
21 December 2016, FASS 1089, 2 pm
I will talk about gender differences in competitiveness and focus on the relational implications of competition with same-gender peers. According to gender socialization research, the female peer culture values the appearance of equality, whereas the male peer culture is comfortable with open hierarchical rankings. As competition dispenses with equality and creates a ranking hierarchy, it fits male relational norms better than female relational norms. On this basis, women are expected to regard competition with their female peers less desirable than men would regard competition with their male peers, and women’s same-gender relationships are expected to suffer under competition more than men’s same-gender relationships. I’ll present four studies that support these predictions and discuss the implications of these findings for women’s career progression.