Gender differences in the dictator experiment: evidence from the matrilineal Mosuo and the patriarchal Yi

Gong, Binglin; Yan, Huibin; Yang, Chun‐Lei

doi:10.1007/s10683-014-9403-2

Cited by 31 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Our analyses did not bear out the predicted interaction between gender and community, potentially due to our fairly small sample size. Although our qualitative assessment hardly stands on its own, in the context of other studies showing gender reversals in aspects of behavior (Gong et al, 2014;Gong & Yang, 2012;Liu & Zuo, 2019) and outcomes Reynolds et al, 2020) among matrilineal Mosuo relative to other patrilineal populations, we suspect that future work in a larger sample may bear out this prediction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Such reversals are often deemed impossible in anthropology, where it is axiomatic that matriliny still involves men in authority (see Mattison et al, 2019). Yet, economic games in matrilineal communities have shown reversals in, e.g., risk taking (Andersen et al, 2008;Gong et al, 2014;Gong & Yang, 2012), that support the view that matrilineal women may take on roles often assumed to be 'masculine'.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Mattison¹,

MacLaren²,

Liu³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Although cooperative social networks are considered key to human evolution, emphasis has usually been placed on the functions of men’s cooperative networks. What do women's networks look like? Do they resemble or differ from men's and what does this suggest about evolutionarily inherited gender differences in reproductive and social strategies? In this paper, we test the ‘universal gender differences’ hypothesis positing gender-specific network structures against the ‘gender reversal’ hypothesis that posits women's networks looking more 'masculine' under matriliny. Specifically, we ask whether men's friendship networks are always larger than women's and we investigate measures of centrality by gender and descent system. To do so, we use tools from social network analysis and data on men’s and women’s friendship ties in matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo communities. In tentative support of the gender reversal hypothesis, we find that women's friendship networks in matriliny are relatively large. Measures of centrality and generalized linear models otherwise reveal greater differences between communities than between men and women. The data and analyses we present are primarily descriptive given limitations of sample size and sampling strategy. Nonetheless, our results provide support for the flexible application of social relationships across genders and clearly challenge the predominant narrative of universal gender differences across space and time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Mattison¹,

MacLaren²,

Liu³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…According to this view, in many Western societies, women are usually expected to be more kind, caring, and generous than men [44], and such social prescriptions may condition their choices and actions [51]. Gong et al [41] provided converging evidence on the presumed effect of social expectations on generosity. They did a DG in matrilineal Mosuo, where women commonly have a dominant role in household economic decisions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, results from previous research suggest that the enactment of gender roles in DG decisions could be modulated by whether sessions were run with mixed sexes or not [36,40,41]. Present sessions all included both sexes.…”

Section: Asmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Engel´s [22] metaanalysis of DG decisions showed women to be more generous than men, though Niederle [31] cautioned about that result because the vast majority of studies reviewed by Engel did not report participants´ gender, which could hide a publication bias. In sum, some economic experiments report women´s DG giving to be greater than that of men (e.g., [32,[35][36][37][38]); but, this pattern is not always found (e.g., [39][40][41][42]) and can even reverse [41,43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

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Attention to Prescriptive Norms Increases Dictator Game Generosity in Women but not Men: Using the 2D:4D Digit Ratio to Test the Role of Biology

Senci

Lucero

Freidin

2020

J. Psychol. Psychother.Res

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Some authors propose that gender norms pose divergent effects on generosity, usually being women the gender expected to be kinder. Indeed, some economic experiments show women to be more generous than men in the Dictator Game (DG). Despite some claiming these results to be determined by socialization into gender norms, data do not speak against a biological explanation of sex differences. In fact, there is evidence that DG generosity varies with the level of pre-natal exposure to testosterone and estrogens, as indirectly measured using participants´ 2D:4D digit ratios. In any case, it is unclear whether DG generosity expresses pure altruism or compliance with social norms. Socialization and biological factors may have diverse effects on these two different motivations. In the present study, we aimed at contributing to this discussion. We randomly assigned participants to two independent conditions. In the prescriptive norm condition, participants were incentivized to accurately estimate others´ opinion about the most socially appropriate option in the DG (i.e., the prescriptive norm), and then made their decisions as dictators. Participants in the control conditions made their decisions as dictators without any prior estimation. We found that the normative exercise increased generosity (relative to the control condition) in women but not in men. In a sub-sample, we also measured participants´ 2D:4D digit ratios as a proxy of a socialization-free sex-dimorphic hormonal influence on behavior. We found no evidence that the normative effect of the estimation exercise was modulated by participants´ digit ratios. In contrast, generosity in the control condition was higher, the more extreme (highest and lowest) the digit ratios were. We conclude in favor of: 1) a socialization-modulated gender effect on responses to prescriptive norms of generosity; and 2) a biological effect of pre-natal hormonal levels on generosity when the norm was not elicited; in this last case, the relationship between pre-natal testosterone and empathic concern might be involved.

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Matrilineal and Matrilocal Systems

Mattison

2016

The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Matriliny is a relatively rare system of kinship in which kin on the maternal side are recognized more strongly than kin on the paternal side in defining social organization. Matrilineal kinship was once considered problematic by scholars focused on the tensions felt by men whose allegiance was split between natal and affinal kin groups. More recent scholarship focuses on the benefits afforded by matrilineal kinship, including its association with harmonious relationships among natal kin and the benefits to parents of transmitting property along the female line.

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Gender differences in the dictator experiment: evidence from the matrilineal Mosuo and the patriarchal Yi

Cited by 31 publications

References 21 publications

Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Attention to Prescriptive Norms Increases Dictator Game Generosity in Women but not Men: Using the 2D:4D Digit Ratio to Test the Role of Biology

Matrilineal and Matrilocal Systems

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