article

Emotional news hits men harder - iStock-1460850029

New study reveals emotional news hits men harder, spilling into financial decisions

Wednesday, 08 January 2025

Emotional news stories have a strong impact on men’s financial decisions, according to new research.

The research - conducted at the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, with collaborators from the University of Essex and Bournemouth University - revealed that men are far more likely than women to let emotions from one situation carry over into unrelated risky decisions.

In the study, 186 people watched real life news stories that were expected to stimulate emotional reactions and were then asked to make risky financial decisions with real money at stake. After watching the news stories, men became significantly less willing to take financial risks even though the decisions were completely unrelated to the news. However, the decisions of women appeared completely unaffected by having watched the same news.

Our results show that while women self-report similar, and sometimes even stronger, emotional reactions to the news, their decisions in settings unrelated to the news appear much more stable, challenging any stereotype of women as, relatively, emotionally driven in their actions.”
Chris Starmer, Professor of Experimental Economics, School of Economics

Offering a possible account of the differences observed between men and women, the lead author Dr Nikhil Masters, from Essex’s Department of Economics, said: “Previous research has shown that emotional intelligence helps people to manage their emotions more effectively. Since women generally score higher on emotional intelligence tests, this could help explain the big differences we see between men and women.”

The findings provide fresh evidence to support regulatory requirements such as cooling-off periods following decisions, especially important decisions which may be associated with strong emotional responses – for example those with potentially large, positive or negative consequences.

The paper, published in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, can be found on ScienceDirect

Story credits

More information is available from Professor Chris Starmer, School of Economics, via chris.starmer@nottingham.ac.uk

Liz Goodwin 2
Liz Goodwin - Media Relations Manager - Faculty of Arts
Email: liz.goodwin@nottingham.ac.uk
Phone: 0115 748 5133
Location:

Notes to editors:

About the University of Nottingham

Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.

Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.

The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.

We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.

More news…

Media Relations - External Relations

The University of Nottingham
YANG Fujia Building
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham, NG8 1BB

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5798
email: pressoffice@nottingham.ac.uk