Facial masculinity predicts risk and time preferences in expert chess players

Abstract

In this study, we examine the relationship between risk-taking, impatience and facial masculinity in expert chess players. We combine a large panel data set from high-level chess games with measures of both risk-taking and impatience in chess with facial masculinity, a proxy for testosterone exposure in puberty. We find that male players with high pubertal testosterone exposure are more impatient by playing shorter chess games. For female players, we find that facial masculinity is negatively correlated with risk-taking.

Keywords:

• risk preferences
• time preferences
• chess
• gender differences

JEL Classification:

• D03
• J16

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for help with the survey software and MTurk from Lydia Chilton, Jason Poulos and David G. Rand. Special thanks to ChessBase for kindly allowing us to use their data.

Notes

1 Evidence comes from, for example, Verdonck et al. (1999), who find that boys with delayed puberty have delayed craniofacial development compared to a control group, and delayed puberty boys who receive low doses of testosterone over a year show a significantly higher rate of growth in these features compared to the control group.

2 The effect for women is not statistically different from that for men.