The Connection Between Sentiments and Social Status

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project tests, by means of laboratory experiments, a new theory of how sentiments are related to social status in humans. One strand of theory in group processes research has concerned how sentiments, the liking and disliking relations among group members, organize groups. Another strand has concerned how the arrangement of social statuses in a task group fosters or hinders group members' opportunities to contribute to their group's goals. The theory tested in this project is a combination of these. Its potential benefits lie in its direct applicability to project teams within businesses, academia, and other professional organizations. The theoretical predictions are derived using the mathematical apparatus of expectations states theory in the group processes tradition. These predictions are tested using an experimental design involving six conditions. The experimental set-up is an adaptation to three-person groups of the usual experimental configuration in this tradition in which social influence is measured by looking at change in a binary choice task. For the entire study, valid data will be collected from 150 research participants. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.