Study Implies That For Men, The Expert They Trust Most Is Themselves

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We all like to consider ourselves experts at something, but do we really trust ourselves as the best authority on things? A new study implies that men certainly do. In fact, for men, the expert they trust the most, appears to be themselves.

The study on this phenomenon took place in the world of academics and it was rooted in the practice of self citation.

When an academic paper is published, you have to cite your sources. You remember this from school, right? For those that continue their lives in academics, research requires proper citing, but have you ever taken a look at the sources listed at the end of a piece of research.

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Sometimes, the name next to author, will pop up a time or two in the citations. This practice of self citation occurs because researchers often have to refer to previous work that they've done. This is simply a way to boost ego. Universities use the number of citations to aid them in hiring decisions. A higher citation number can lead to more citations as it makes you look more credible.

A group of researchers recently discovered a pattern in this practice: men cite themselves in their work at a higher rate than women.

A team made up of researchers from Stanford, the University of Washington and New York University decided to dig deeper into self citing. They examined 1.5 million academic papers.

They found that almost 10 percent of all citations are self citations and that men are 10 percent more likely to self cite than women.

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The group also attempted to explain the trend and based it on numerous things saying that men could be self citing more because they view their abilities more positively than women. They also noted that men may face fewer social penalties for promoting themselves.

The research also pointed to men specializing more in academic sub-fields which could foster more self citation and that men publish more papers and simply have more work to cite.

The group concluded that more self citations from men, could impact the gender disparities seen in college faculties.