London - These days, it can often sound like a stereotype from a bygone age.
But men really are more competitive than women – even if they have equal ability, research claims.
Even the most competitive women – accomplished long- distance runners – have less of a win-at-all-costs mentality than their male counterparts at equivalent level, the study of 1,147 long distance runners competing in the 5,000 metres in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association found.
Although it the idea that men are more competitive than women is not new, this survey is the first to prove that the same is true even among elite athletes.
Researchers asked questions about each runner’s motivations, the amount of training they did, and their desire to compete at an elite level after college.
For example, athletes were asked questions such as, ‘what was the highest average running mileage per week you maintained for a four-week period?’ Overall, the answers from the men showed a higher degree of competitiveness than those from the women, according to the team at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Professor Robert Deaner, a psychologist, said they studied elite runners because the sport is equally popular among men and women and there is no difference in prize money.
He said the findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ, potentially had wider implications, including for the workplace. He added: ‘It could support the case for gender diversity in the workplace, since men and women might have complementary strengths and weaknesses.’
But he added: ‘Of course, we need to be careful not to assume our running results will generalise to all sports or all domains outside of sports.
‘Nevertheless, our findings do echo those from other studies, which show that even when men and women hold the same selective jobs, men are more likely to prioritise competing for recognition and status.’
Daily Mail