Whether it is a married couple choosing a new car, two friends buying a holiday or business colleagues investing in stocks and shares, if one of the two is a woman then the pair will take fewer risks.

This means if you want a good deal, you should make sure there’s a woman in the negotiations.

A compromise is more likely when a woman is involved in the decision making, according to new research.

Men making decisions together are dismissive of compromise and more likely to “assert their masculinity” by going for an extreme deal, says a study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Researchers from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College tested a range of buying and selling goods with a different range of prizes, on 900 pairs of volunteers.

“When men are in the presence of other men, they feel the need to prove their masculinity,” Professor Hristina Nikolova, lead author of the study, said.

“Both tend to push away from the compromise option because the compromise option is consistent with feminine norms.

“On the other hand, extremism is a more masculine trait so that’s why both male partners tend to prefer an extreme option when making decisions together.”

For instance, two men going to buy a car together would choose one which is the fastest, the most fuel efficient or the safest.

But if a woman is involved in the deal either as a buyer or seller then the car chosen is more likely to be a compromise. She will not pick the safest, fastest or most fuel efficient but one that combines all factors.

The experiments involved 1,200 students conducting deals as pairs or individuals plus another 673 doing deals online.

The deals ranged from discussing which printer to buy to paying different amounts for a lottery ticket where the potential prizes ranged from high to low.

“No matter what the product is, we see the same effects,” Professor Nikolova added.

“The compromise effect basically emerges in any pair when there is a woman.”

不管是夫妻挑选新车，两个朋友一起购买旅游度假产品，还是两个同事一起投资股票证券，如果两人中有一个是女性，他们承担的风险就会小些。

这意味着如果想完成一次比较成功的交易，你最好确定有一名女性参与到协商过程中来。

据一项新的研究显示，当有女性参与交易的最终决策时，形成折衷方案的可能性更大。

《消费者研究》杂志的一项研究显示，男性一起进行交易决策的时候，他们往往会对折衷的方案不屑一顾，而更倾向于通过极端的交易方案来显示自己的“男子气概”。

波士顿学院卡罗尔管理研究院的研究人员测试了900对志愿者在购买和销售价格各异的商品时的行为。

该研究报告的首席作者，哈里斯蒂娜•尼科洛娃教授表示：“当男性和同性一起时，他们会感觉到需要证明自己的男子气概。”

“双方都会避免折衷的选择，因为折衷的选择显得女性化。”

“另一方面，走极端的做法更加男性化，所以两个男性一起做决定时，他们倾向于更极端的选择。”

例如，当两名男性一起去购买汽车时，他们也许会选择速度最快的、或者最省油的、或者最安全的。

但如果有一名女性参与到交易中，不管她是买方还是卖方，最终的选择就更有可能是一个折衷的结果。她不会选择最安全的、速度最快的，或最省油的，而会综合考虑作出决定。

本次实验共有1200名学生两人结伴或者单独进行交易，另外还有673人进行网上交易。

交易活动包括讨论买什么打印机、投资多少钱买中奖金额高低不等的彩票等等。

尼科洛娃教授还说：“不管购买的产品是什么，我们都看到了相同的效应。”

“基本上只要两人中有女性，折衷效应就会出现。”

(Chinadaily.com.cn)

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【折衷】zhézhōng compromise a settlement of differences by mutual concessions

    【男子气概】nánzǐ qìgài masculinity pertaining to or characteristic of men