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Exposure to half-dressed women and economic behavior

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  • Bonnier, Evelina
  • Dreber, Anna
  • Hederos, Karin
  • Sandberg, Anna

Abstract

Images of half-dressed women are ubiquitous in advertising and popular culture. Yet little is known about the potential impacts of such images on economic decision making. We randomize 648 participants of both genders to advertising images including either women in bikini or underwear, fully dressed women, or no women, and examine the effects on risk taking, willingness to compete and math performance in a lab experiment. We find no treatment effects on any outcome measure for women. For men, our results indicate that men take more risk after having been exposed to images of half-dressed women compared to no women.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonnier, Evelina & Dreber, Anna & Hederos, Karin & Sandberg, Anna, 2019. "Exposure to half-dressed women and economic behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 393-418.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:168:y:2019:i:c:p:393-418
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.10.017
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