Research and literature to date suggest that women are less motivated to take on challenging tasks in competitive contexts and performance-contingent incentive systems. In this paper, we investigate whether two motivational tendencies, the behavioral approach (BAS) and the avoidance system (BIS), explain gender differences in reward sensitivity. To examine this question, we conducted an experiment using a modified Sternberg task – working memory task – on students at the Faculty of Economics. We measured participants' decisions to choose between easy and difficult tasks, their results in their performance of difficulty task, their approach and avoidance tendencies and their financial performance. We found that women score significantly higher on BIS, but there are no significant gender differences on BAS. Apart from the fact that rewards have a slightly stronger motivational effect on individuals with high BAS and low BIS, we did not find significant gender differences in reward sensitivity.
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