Gender Differences in Willingness to Guess

In a competitive test-taking environment (like the SAT) with penalties for wrong answers, women are less willing to guess, resulting in a loss of potential points and lower scores compared with male test-takers.

Introduction

Reluctance to guess when uncertain about an answer has the potential to impact an individual’s performance in a variety of settings, including at work and school. The impact is likely to be even greater if this reluctance translates into a more general unwillingness to volunteer ideas, opinions, and advice. The SAT is a competitive, high-stakes standardized test in the United States that impacts whether and where a student is admitted to college. The test is set up to allow students to skip questions without penalty, and penalizes incorrect answers, thus deterring guessing. This study focuses on willingness to guess in the context of standardized testing, which is commonly used for placement and admissions at all levels of schooling. It examines what drives gender differences in propensity to skip questions.

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