SOP 3004 Study Guide Exam 3 Group Dynamics II Signaling and Prestige Status degree to which an individual attracts the attention of others possesses influence and is deferred to without overt challenge High status individuals that have priority access to coveted social goods such as food material resources and mates o Example George Clooney Two routes to status Dominance and Prestige o Dominance status relation where subordination is maintained by fear of coercion or physical violence in agnostic encounters Dominant individuals can PUNISH others Example Joseph Stalin o Prestige where subordination is maintained by the voluntary consent of the subordinate because he or she esteems the traits of the prestigious individual prestigious individuals can REWARD you with skills resources humor charm money and effective policies Example Albert Einstein o Prestige and Dominance are not mutually exclusive More Prestige vs More dominance Example Obama Can both punish and reward technically Obama is more dominance based Evidence for the two routes Tracy and Robbins o Authentic pride more prosocial and achievement oriented Prestige Cheng Tracy Henrich o Hubristic pride marked by arrogance and conceit Dominance Cheng Tracy Henrich Study 1 online Measured trait dominance and trait prestige and found relation between dominance and hubristic pride and prestige and authentic pride Study 2 had 91 male athletes rate themselves and rate five others Found similar relation using observer s ratings How powerful status can be Example extreme but girl at baseball game biggest fan of Gomez How powerful emotion of deference to a superior person can be Who obtains status o Functionalists argue that those who obtain status possess skills that benefit a group o Important factor being socially connected o Anderson and Shirako Reputations among a negotiating class Reputations are important for status Found that a reputation for cooperativeness developed only for those who were socially connected People obtain status for possessing traits that benefit the group they are in Being kind cooperative and altruistic Examples Michael Jordan high status helped his team and the NBA Sean Bradley low status drafted early in the draft Team expected great things but it never panned out Didn t help group The desire for power is the best predictor of who obtains status This dominance refers to assertiveness and a preference for authority Competence Signaling Theory assertiveness and a desire to possess authority lead to behaviors that enhance perceptions of competence The perceived competence that predicts status Confidence also comes perceptions of competence Anderson and Kilduff o Broke participants into teams to solve math problems o Individuals who were assertive and desired authority were perceived as more competent although their formalized math tests revealed no advantage Competence Signaling 1 Assertive individuals volunteered more answers 2 Assertive individuals provided more problem relevant information External appearances are important Think of IQ example Signal an event act trait or thing that shows the existence of or gives information about something o Examples Turn signals Faial Expressions Wearing a suit signals wealth and prestige o Think of signals on continuum Easy to fake signals middle hard to fake signals Thumbs up easy to fake Smile moderately hard Rolex watch so expensive hard to fake Hard to fake signals are either costly signals or indexes Indexical signal signal that is almost INEVITABLY connected to what it signals Example Large muscles are an INDEX of strength because they are directly related Hard to fake because you can t get big muscles without also getting strength Costly signal signal that force a price on the signaler that is difficult for dishonest signalers to bear Example A Porsche is a COSTLY signal of wealth because it is difficult for people who are not wealthy to purchase and maintain a Porsche Hard to fake because the cost is nearly prohibitive for cheaters Traits Humans possess many traits that are not immediately obvious o Kindness o Commitment o Status o Intelligence o Wealth o Health intelligence Humans posses traits that are difficult to detect kindness loyalty Humans might be motivated to cheat signals Humans who are smart or nice want others to know it however humans who are mean or dumb also want people to think they are nice or smart so they might use signals to fake those qualities Costly signals are hard to fake so reasonable honest Michael Spence Why do we get degrees Who do employees care so much about degrees o Degrees are often irrelevant for the job Pharmaceutical sales glorified pizza delivery person often have degrees in chemistry o We can assume that there are good and bad workers but employees can not distinguish between them assume interviews are uninformative therefore without qualifications both get paid the same o Is there a way to signal trait good worker to a prospective employer o College degrees work to signal underlying traits hard to fake because it is difficult for unintelligent unambitious and not conscientious people to earn them o Degrees can also signal STATUS Status and Mating Women desire high status men therefore men with high status signals should be rated as more desirable men who are trying to impress court women should display signals of status Status is hard to perceive but it can be displayed with signals Townsend and Levy o Test signaling theory o Had images of men pre rated in the same outfits then broke men into different status groups which they depicted with different costumes signals In study low status men dressed in Burger King outfits and high status men dressed in nice dress shirts and Rolex watches Women saw only ONE of the pictures of each man either high status middle or low Asked how willing they would be to A Go on a date with guy B Marry the guy Women more willing to date or marry man if he was wearing high status clothes and a Rolex Costume was more predictive of response when the man was low in attractiveness Signals of status had significant effects on women s willingness to date or marry a man Men spend prodigious amounts of money on Rolex s shows concrete benefits It would be a shocking waste of money if they did not Conspicuous consumption Wasteful consumption on items that aren t necessary but are conspicuous or publically perceivable Conspicuous means obvious or readily perceivable Consumption that is obvious that is
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