Simpson’s Paradox and the Gender Equality Paradox in Disgust Sensitivity: when disaggregation is not the answer.
The gender equality paradox (GEP) refers to the finding that gender differences tend to be larger in more gender-equal countries. Recently, it has been suggested that the GEP in personality may be an artifact of Simpson’s paradox, where an effect observed at the aggregate level reverses or disappears when analyzed at the subgroup level.
I will present evidence that the GEP also occurs in disgust sensitivity, with gender differences being more pronounced in more gender-equal countries. However, our analysis suggests that this effect is not due to Simpson’s paradox, as it persists even when controlling for cultural clusters, accounting for cross-country differences in reliability, and shifting the analysis to the individual level.
Finally, I will discuss the role of data disaggregation: while often useful, it is not always warranted from a causal perspective, particularly when variables are not independent