Gender perception in a game of chicken

Abstract

The tough vs. weak strategy choice in a game of chicken provides the setting to gauge the impact of gender perception on strategic decision-making. Through the use of survey, this study finds that the indicated opponent gender did not have a significant impact on strategy choice, except in the case where male respondents were matched with a male survey. In this situation, male respondents were statistically significantly less likely to choose the more aggressive, competitive strategy. We attribute these results to wide intra-gender variation in strategy choice, as well as the strong dictates of masculinity in society.