Men and the Middle

Gender Differences in Dyadic Compromise Effects

Bibliographic Data

ID2237405
AuthorsHristina Nikolova (0000-0001-7406-4478), Cait Lamberton (0000-0001-7160-7270)
Year2016
Volume43
Issue3
Pages355-371
Publication date2016-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jcr/ucw035
OpenAlexW2479946385
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited64

Individual decision makers show robust tendencies toward choosing compromise options. But what happens when consumers make choices with someone else? This article examines the choice of compromise options in joint dyadic decisions. Findings reveal that preferences for compromise alternatives replicate in mixed-gender and female-female dyads as among individuals but are attenuated when two males make a choice together. Moreover, when two males make joint choices, their tendency to choose the compromise alternative decreases not only relative to other types of pairs but also to male and female individual decision makers. Evidence is presented that this happens because male-male dyadic contexts cue gender dichotomization, behavior that is consistent with masculine but not feminine gender norms. Because the extremity in decision making is maximally consistent with masculine but not feminine gender role norms, male-male dyads exhibit lower preferences for compromise options. However, if men have an opportunity to signal masculinity to one another prior to making joint compromise choices, male-male dyads prefer compromise options at proportions no different from female-female dyads. This work brings together the judgment and decision-making literature with insights from the social psychology literature, identifying a case when gender role norms have profound influences on classic judgment and decision-making effects.

Compromise · Developmental psychology · Masculinity · Mate choice · Political science · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology

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