E. Boys Will Be BoysWhile both men and women exhibit overconfidence, men are generally more
overconfident than women (Lundeberg, Fox, and Puncochar 1994).^12 Gender
differences in overconfidence are highly task dependent (Lundeberg, Fox, and
Puncochar). Deaux and Farris (1977) write, “overall, men claim more ability
than do women, but this difference emerges most strongly on...masculine
task[s].” Several studies confirm that differences in confidence are greatest
for tasks perceived to be in the masculine domain (Deaux and Emswiller
1994, Lenney 1977, Beyer and Bowden 1997). Men are inclined to feel more
competent than women do in financial matters (Prince 1993). Indeed, casual
observation reveals that men are disproportionately represented in the finan-
cial industry. We expect, therefore, that men will generally be more overconfi-
dent about their ability to make financial decisions than women.
Additionally, Lenney (1977) reports that gender differences in self-
confidence depend on the lack of clear and unambiguous feedback. When
560 BARBER AND ODEAN
Figure 15.4. Monthly turnover and annual performance of individual investors. The
gray bar represents the net annualized geometric mean return from February 1991
to January 1997 for individual investor quintiles based on monthly turnover. The
white bar represents the monthly turnover.
(^12) While Lichtenstein and Fischhoff (1981) do not find gender differences in calibration of
general knowledge, Lundeberg, Fox, and Puncochar (1994) argue that this is because gender
differences in calibration are strongest for topics in the masculine domain.