THE WEAKEST LINK 1 Running Head: THE WEAKEST LINK Male Female Dynamics in Groups: A Field Study of The Weakest Link

This paper develops an integrative framework for understanding gender-based group dynamics based on sex composition. We study decisions made by male and female members of a group to eliminate or promote other male and female group members. Study 1 uses game simulations modeled on the television show, The Weakest Link, to show how male and female players trade off individual versus group utility in a group setting and how such trade-offs affect group dynamics. We identify four patterns of sex-based group dynamics: old boy’s club, queen bee, bounded rationality, and females as finalists but not as winners. These patterns are part of a mosaic based on differences in sex composition and sex differences between male and female group members discriminating positively, negatively, or not at all against other male and female group members. We propose that differences in the degree of competition versus cooperation in the group, the initial sex composition, and the mean and variance of players ’ abilities by sex interactively determine which pattern will be noted. Study 2 uses observational data from The Weakest Link to test these predictions using actual behavior in a field setting. Implications for the motivational, cognitive, and strategic antecedents of gender effects based on sex composition of the group are discussed