Status characteristics and expectation states theory is concerned with the processes whereby status differentials activate performance expectations and with the effect of these expectations on behavior. The relative contributions of status and expectations to behavior have not been clearly established in previous primary-level studies. Moreover, researchers working within alternative perspectives on interaction inequality have argued that expectations are a superfluous epiphenomenon of behavior. A meta-analytic integration was therefore conducted on previous research that has examined the status expectations - behavior pattern of effects. Consistent with the formulations of the theory, the results indicate that status exerts its effects on behavior indirectly, through the effects of status on expectations and the effect of expectations on behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Berger, J. , & Conner, T. L. (1969). Performance expectations and behavior in small groups. Acta Sociologica, 12, 186-197.
2.
Berger, J. , Fisek, M. H., Norman, R. Z., & Zelditch, M. (1977). Status characteristics and social interaction. New York: Elsevier.
3.
Berger, J. , Wagner, D. G., & Zelditch, M. (1985). Expectation states theory: Review and assessment. In J. Berger & M. Zelditch (Eds.), Status, rewards, and influence (pp. 1-72). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
Cohen, E. G. (1982). Expectation states and interracial interaction in school settings. Annual Review of Sociology, 8, 209-235.
5.
Driskell, J. E. (1982). Personal characteristics and performance expectations. Social Psychology Quarterly, 45, 229-237.
6.
Driskell, J. E. (1986, August). Group performance under stress. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
7.
Lee, M. , & Ofshe, R. (1981). The impact of behavioral style and status characteristics on social influence: A test of two competing theories. Social Psychology Quarterly, 44, 73-82.
8.
Lee, M. , & Ofshe, R. (1983). What are we to make of all of this: A reply to Berger and Zelditch. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46, 63-65.
9.
Lockheed, M. E. , & Hall, K. P. (1976). Conceptualizing sex as a status characteristic: Applications to leadership training strategies. Journal of Social Issues, 32, 111-124.
10.
Mazur, A. (1985). A biosocial model of status in face-to-face primate groups. Social Forces, 64, 377-402.
11.
Mazur, A. , Rosa, E., Faupel, M., Heller, J., Leen, R., & Thurman, B. (1980). Physiological aspects of communication via mutual gaze. American Journal of Sociology, 86, 50-74.
12.
Meeker, B. F. , & Weitzel-O'Neill, P. A. (1977). Sex roles and interpersonal behavior in task oriented groups. American Sociological Review, 42, 92-105.
13.
Molm, L. D. (1985). Gender and power use: An experimental analysis of behavior and perceptions. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 285-300.
14.
Mullen, B. (1990). Advanced BASIC meta-analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
15.
Mullen, B. , Copper, C., & Driskell, J. E. (1990). Jaywalking as a function of model behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 320-330.
16.
Mullen, B. , & Hu, L. (1988). Social projection as a function of cognitive mechanisms: Two meta-analytic integrations. British Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 333-356.
17.
Mullen B. , & Hu, L. (1989). Perceptions of ingroup and outgroup variability: A meta-analytic integration. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 233-252.
18.
Mullen B. , & Johnson, C. (in press). Distinctiveness-based illusory correlation and stereotyping: A meta-analytic integration. British Journal of Social Psychology.
19.
Mullen, B. , & Rosenthal, R. (1985). BASIC meta -analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
20.
Mullen, B. , Salas, E., & Driskell, J. E. (1989). Salience, motivation, and artifact as contributions to the relation between participation rate and leadership. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 545-559.
21.
Nemeth, C. J. (1988). Style without status expectations: The special contributions of minorities. In M. Webster & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 281-290). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
22.
Rosa, E. , & Mazur, A. (1979). Incipient status in groups. Social Forces, 58, 18-37.
23.
Rosenthal, R. (Ed.). (1980). Quantitative assessment of research domains. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
24.
Rosenthal, R. (1984). Meta-analytic procedures for social research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
25.
Sherman, S. J. (1983). Expectation-based and automatic behavior: A comment on Lee and Ofshe, and Berger and Zelditch. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46, 66-70.
26.
Webster, M. (1982). Unpublished data, Stanford University.
27.
Webster, M. , & Driskell, J. E. (1978). Status generalization: A review and some new data. American Sociological Review, 43, 220-236.
28.
Wood, W. , & Karten, S. J. (1986). Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 341-347.
29.
Zeller, R. A. , & Warnecke, R. B. (1973). The utility of constructs as intervening variables in the interpretation of experimental results. Sociological Methods and Research, 2, 85-110.
