The effect of experience on confidence levels in men and women.

Abstract

Previous research examining confidence levels has shown that for men confidence seems to be a relatively stable personality trait, remaining consistent across a wide variety of situations. In women, the same is apparently not true. Women's confidence tends to vary across situations and has been shown to be consistently lower than men's. The current research sought to examine the role experience plays in affecting confidence levels. This was done in an attempt to look at confidence levels at a more basic level to determine whether or not differences exist in the absence of other factors such as social comparison and evaluation. Male and female undergraduates rated their ability to complete a block construction task by estimating the percent of designs they could successfully replicate. Participants in the experimental group gained experience in the task by learning to construct one design, while the control group provided estimates of confidence having no experience. Results were inconsistent with previous research, showing no significant differences in men or women in the experience and no experience groups.