Do Financial Concerns Foster Female Competition?: The Impact of Resource Availability on (Perceptions of) Women's Same-Sex Competitiveness

Abstract

Across four studies, the current research tested the prediction that women¿s perceptions of same- (vs. opposite-) sex others¿ competitiveness increases in contexts of resource scarcity. Contrary to predictions, results provided evidence that women¿s perceptions of same- (vs. opposite-) sex others¿ competitiveness increase in contexts of resource abundance. Study 1 demonstrated that women perceive greater competition among female-female (vs. male-male and female-male) target groups in ecologies where resources were widely available. A similar pattern of results emerged in Study 2, where women who perceived relatively low levels of resource scarcity in their current environment evaluated same-sex targets to be more competitive than opposite-sex others. In Study 3, results showed that enacting a resource abundance mindset led women to evaluate same-sex (vs. opposite-sex) peers as being more likely to behave competitively towards them. However, Study 4 did not replicate these findings. Together, the results of the current work suggest that, in conditions where resources are abundant, women perceive same-sex others to be more competitive than opposite-sex others.