Gender differences in the tendency to follow private information: Evidence from a social learning game

Abstract

This paper experimentally examines gender differences in the tendency to follow private information in a social learning game. The experimental results show that the proportion of decisions made by male participants that are consistent with their private signals is significantly higher than that of female participants, i.e., men are more likely to follow their own private information than women. This gender effect is primarily present when participants' private signals contradict the majority of public information. Overconfidence is a mechanism underlying the gender effect.