Risky Shift and Gender of the Advocate: Information Theory versus Normative Theory

Abstract

This study investigated the relationships between what has been termed the "risky shift" phenomenon and gender. The independent variables were the gender of the subjects and the gender of the confederate who advocated risk during a group discussion. The results showed that the male subjects took more risk than did females, and that the male advocate elicited more risk than did the female advocates. A surprising finding was that the female advocate elicited no risky shift from female subjects.