Gender differences in dictator giving: A high-power laboratory test.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Cross-sectional laboratory experiment comparing self-selected demographic groups (gender)
PubMed 39937753 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0317886
What was done
Researchers tested gender differences in altruistic behavior among 1,161 participants in a laboratory setting using a dual-role dictator game. The analysis controlled for participant age, cognitive ability, personality traits, response time, and self-reported emotional motivations.
What was found
Women transferred significantly more of their endowment than men. After adjusting for age, cognitive ability, personality traits, self-reported emotions, and response time, females gave 7.5 percentage points more of their endowment (approximately a 40% increase) than males on average. The gender gap was mediated by reasoning ability, personality traits, and emotional state.
Why it matters
This high-powered study provides robust experimental evidence of greater altruism among women in standard economic dictator tasks, showing that the gender gap persists even when accounting for key cognitive, affective, and personality differences.
Limits
Laboratory dictator games rely on artificial stakes and environments that may not reflect real-world charitable giving or financial decisions. The abstract does not report the specific demographic breakdown, recruitment setting, or details on the mediation effect sizes.
Cited by
- context In economic experiments where participants are given money to allocate between themselves and an anonymous stranger, individuals typically share between 30% and 50% rather than keeping all of it.