Gender differences of competitive attitude from childhood to adulthood

Abstract

The authors have analyzed the gender differences along competition. The analysis is based on a survey executed in 2020 and was filled out by 403 respondents, out of whom 285 were women, 118 were men. Notwithstanding it was not a genuine longitudinal data collection, respondents have been asked to answer questions about their personality and competition-related attitude regarding not only their present circumstances but also their childhood and adolescence. The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate the difference between females and males in their personality and competitive attitude, and, in addition, justify that both genders have a different motivation for competition with distinctive competition habits at the workplace. The authors have used factor analysis and average-based aggregation for constructing dimensions, mean comparisons to examine simple differences, correlation for analyzing relationships, general linear models for recognizing the influence of gender on the relationship of the dimensions. An inverse analysis of classification tree has been executed to reveal how women and men differ in their personality and competitive attitude. Finally, two Structural Equation Models – one for each gender – have been established to analyze how complexity of personality and competitive attitudes determine current competitive habits for females and males and display the disparity of the underlying effects. Beyond the usual tendencies, i.e., males are more competitive, we have found women to be more maximalist and motivated by failures, while men have been found to have positive personality and extroversion. As regards team-competition, males focus on team spirit instead of competition. Age has a greater effect on females, viz., several aspects of competition become less pronounced with age. Keywords: competition, gender, childhood, adulthood, personality, motivation