Abstract In a recent study of grade performance in upper-division accounting courses, researchers found that female students received significantly higher grades than their male counterparts. To explain this finding, the researchers presented various theories regarding extrinsic and accounting-related determinants of females' superior classroom performance. The current study empirically examines the impact of three intrinsic achievement components (work needs, mastery needs, and interpersonal competitiveness) on grade performance in introductory accounting courses. The findings indicate that female students' superior grade performance is not unique to upper-division accounting courses, and that females' self-reported higher work needs may explain their generally superior grade performance in all courses and grade levels. Theories that impute only extrinsic or accounting-related determinants to females' superior grade performance appear unsupportable.
Thomas Tyson (Wed,) studied this question.