Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups.

Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damage individuals' acceptance in a group. Therefore, the authors further argue that individuals are likely to refrain from status self-enhancement to maintain their belongingness in a group. Support for their hypotheses was found in 2 studies of status in face-to-face groups, using a social relations model approach (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984). Individuals showed high accuracy in perceiving their status and even erred on the side of being overly humble. Moreover, enhancement in status self-perceptions was associated with lower levels of social acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group size and social interactions are associated with calling behavior in Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis).

The complexity of a social group may influence the vocal behavior of group members. Recent evidence in Carolina chickadees, Poecile carolinensis, indicated that one component of social complexity, group size, influenced the complexity of the "chick-a-dee" call, a vocalization functioning in social cohesion. Individuals in larger social groups used calls with greater information than did individuals in smaller social groups. Here, the authors review this earlier work, and describe a recent study indicating that social interactions between females and males within female-male pairs of chickadees were associated with rates of chick-a-dee call production in the males. Together, these studies suggest that the nature and complexity of social interactions among members of chickadee social groups influence chick-a-dee calling behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of self-perception and group-perception as related to two leadership roles.

48 members of a coeducational sociology class were rated by their peers as regards "leadership" and "popularity." The top 7 leaders and 5 popular members were compared for accuracy of perception of group status relationships with the following results: popular members were more accurate than leaders in their perception of the popularity of others. There was no difference between leaders and popular group members in accuracy of perception of the leadership status of others. Popular members were more accurate than leaders in their perception of significant group dimensions. Popular group members did not differ from leaders in accuracy of perception of self on personality variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liking for the group and the perceived merit of the group's behavior.

Paris of Ss were told, individually, that their partners were congenial and they would probably like them (high like), or the converse (low like). Ss were then separated and given an artillery gunnery problem in which they were to judge the accuracy of their "observer's" range estimates. Both Ss in each pair thought the other 3 was the "observer," which was actually a taped recording piped to each S. High like Ss judged their "observer's" estimates as more accurate than low like Ss. Ss who had been led to believe that they had "observers" of high proficiency in range estimates tended to judge the estimate as more accurate than when they had low proficiency "observers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helping one's way to the top: Self-monitors achieve status by helping others and knowing who helps whom.

The authors argue that high self-monitors may be more sensitive to the status implications of social exchange and more effective in managing their exchange relations to elicit conferrals of status than low self-monitors. In a series of studies, they found that high self-monitors were more accurate in perceiving the status dynamics involved both in a set of fictitious exchange relations and in real relationships involving other members of their social group. Further, high self-monitors elevated their social status among their peers by establishing a reputation as a generous exchange partner. Specifically, they were more likely than low self-monitors to be sought out for help and to refrain from asking others for help. This behavior provides one explanation for why high self-monitors acquire elevated status among their peers--they are more attuned to status dynamics in exchange relations and adapt their behavior in ways that elicit status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of training upon accuracy and variability in interpersonal perception.

The relationship between accuracy and variability in estimations and the effects of a training program in interpersonal relations upon interpersonal perception were investigated in 72 senior medical students divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training in physician-patient relationships and the control did not receive such training. "Contrary to expectation, the experimental group tended to become less accurate than the control group… . These results, which agree with a hypothesis advanced by Cronbach, suggest that training programs devoted to increasing accuracy of interpersonal perception run the risk of decreasing accuracy when they increase the trainee's responsiveness to individual differences." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-emotional behavior of preschool-age children with and without developmental delays

Differences in parent and teacher ratings of social-emotional behavior among young children with developmental delays and those without significant developmental problems were examined. Participants included 198 preschool-age children identified as having a developmental delay (DD group) and 198 preschool-age children without significant developmental problems (Comparison group) who were matched to the DD group by age and gender, using a randomized block procedure. Parent and teacher perceptions of social-emotional behavior of the participants were assessed using the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS), a social skills and problem behavior rating scale for the use with young children. PKBS scores were found to classify the participants into their respective groups with a substantial degree of accuracy. Statistically significant differences in social skills and problem behavior scores between the two groups were found, with the DD participants evidencing greater social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses than the Comparison group. Individuals in the DD group were found to be four to five times more likely to have significant social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses than individuals in the Comparison group. The critical social-emotional behaviors separating the two groups appeared to be social interaction and independence skills, and socially withdrawn and isolated behavior patterns. New validity evidence for the PKBS is discussed, as are future needs pertaining to research and clinical practice in the area of social-emotional behavior of young children with developmental delays.     

The perception of Jewish photographs by non-Jews and Jews.

2 groups of Ss, a Jewish group and a non-Jewish group labeled 100 photographs as Jewish or non-Jewish and selected the 30 that appeared most Jewish-looking. "In both groups high F scorers, but in neither group was there a significant difference in accuracy between high and low scorers. There was no significant relationship in either group between response bias and accuracy. With respect to between-group differences Jews were more accurate than non-Jews and manifested a tendency to label more photographs as Jewish." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of perceived dependency relationships upon conformity to group expectations.

The study was designed to test the hypothesis that "group members perceiving themselves as interdependent for their reward attainment become highly motivated toward the group task." Results generally are in accord with several predictions, one of which is that: "Members of groups who are instrumentally interdependent become more highly motivated toward the group task than Ss who can achieve their goals independently of the others in the group." Another prediction supported by results is that: "Under conditions of instrumental independence, Ss who are told that both they and their teammates can attain a valued goal through the group activity become more highly task motivated than Ss who are told either that only S or Ss partner can attain this goal." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of fear arousal and suppression of fear upon social perception.

A research was designed to study the effects of fear arousal and suppression of fear upon social perception. "It was hypothesized that individuals subjected to a fear-producing situation would tend to project their feelings upon some social objects, and further, instructions to inhibit emotional reactions would increase the amount of projection." Sixty male volunteers from introductory psychology classes were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Control, Fear-Expression and Fear-Suppression. "The data indicate that the arousal of fear results in a tendency to project fear onto a stimulus object in the environment. The results are also consistent with the hypothesis that suppression facilitates the tendency to project although, in this latter instance, one is less confident in rejecting the null hypothesis. Several alternative explanations of the effects of the suppression variable were considered and the role of cognitive variables in the projection process were discussed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do collectivists know themselves better than individualists? Cross-cultural studies of the holier than thou phenomenon.

Collectivists know themselves better than individualists do, in that collectivists provide more accurate self-predictions of future behavior in situations with moral or altruistic overtones. In 3 studies, respondents from individualist cultures overestimated the likelihood that they would act generously in situations involving redistributing a reward (Study 1), donating money (Study 2), or avoiding rude behavior (Study 3), whereas collectivists were, in general, more accurate in their self-predictions. Both groups were roughly accurate in predicting the behavior of their peers. Collectivists were more accurate in their self-predictions than were individualists, even when both groups were sampled from the same cultural group (Study 4). Discussion centers on culturally specific motivations that may bias the accuracy of self-insight and social insight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of brightness discrimination as measured by concurrent verbal responses and GSRs.

"In… subliminal perception experiments some response shows discriminative accuracy at stimulus values below the threshold of awareness determined by classical psychophysical techniques. The procedure is objectionable because the threshold measure admits extraneous variance that the measure of 'subliminal accuracy' does not… . This experiment compares the discriminative accuracy of GSR and verbal response when assessed by the same forced-choice psychophysical technique." Results indicated "the verbal response showed significantly higher correlation with the stimulus than did the GSR… neither response was significantly more accurate than the other." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

N + 1 ways not to run a railroad.

Although "attacking what I consider to be a series of simplistic fallacies in thinking about social control, it is my intention to encourage a responsible realistic discussion of the issues." One fallacy is that it is possible to establish a completely unchanging social order, a "total state" which once established will continue running in unchanging form. "A second fallacy in thinking about social control in the 'total state' is that the major problems are those of political loyalty." A third fallacy is "the tacit assumption that the problem of social control is solely one of the control of individual behavior." The determinism versus free-will controversy is irresolvable. Complete determinism "can never be proven or disproven for one reason: our knowledge is and must always be finite." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation and antinormative behavior: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analytic integration reviews evidence for deindividuation theory as an explanation of collective and antinormative behavior. Deindividuation theories propose a subjective deindividuated state that causes transgression of general social norms. Deindividuation research classically manipulates anonymity, self-awareness, and group size. Results of 60 independent studies showed little support for (a) the occurrence of deindividuated (antinormative) behaviors or (b) the existence of a deindividuated state. Research results were explained more adequately by situation-specific than by general social norms. Analyses indicated that groups and individuals conform more to situation-specific norms when they are "deindividuated." These findings are inconsistent with deindividuation theory but support a social identity model of deindividuation effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for hypodescent and racial hierarchy in the categorization and perception of biracial individuals.

Individuals who qualify equally for membership in two racial groups provide a rare window into social categorization and perception. In 5 experiments, we tested the extent to which a rule of hypodescent, whereby biracial individuals are assigned the status of their socially subordinate parent group, would govern perceptions of Asian–White and Black–White targets. In Experiment 1, in spite of posing explicit questions concerning Asian–White and Black–White targets, hypodescent was observed in both cases and more strongly in Black–White social categorization. Experiments 2A and 2B used a speeded response task and again revealed evidence of hypodescent in both cases, as well as a stronger effect in the Black–White target condition. In Experiments 3A and 3B, social perception was studied with a face-morphing task. Participants required a face to be lower in proportion minority to be perceived as minority than in proportion White to be perceived as White. Again, the threshold for being perceived as White was higher for Black–White than for Asian–White targets. An independent categorization task in Experiment 3B further confirmed the rule of hypodescent and variation in it that reflected the current racial hierarchy in the United States. These results documenting biases in the social categorization and perception of biracials have implications for resistance to change in the American racial hierarchy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processes affecting scores on "understanding of others" and "assumed similarity."

"This paper seeks to disentangle some of the many effects which contribute to social perception scores, and to identify separately measurable components." The components of the Accuracy (with which the judge perceives Others) score and of the Assumed Similarity (between the judge and another person) score are discussed in the text and formulated mathematically in an appendix. Illustrations are provided of applications of the model, for the practical use of judgments in the clinic, the school, and elsewhere. Understanding and use of social perception data will be enhanced by "careful subdivision of global measures" and by more explicit theory in order to reduce the investigator's "measures to the genuinely relevant components." 34 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A structuronomic conception of behavior: Individual and collective: I. Structural theory and the master problem of social psychology.

The 1st of a series of 2 papers discussing a theoretical approach to conceptualization of theory and principles in social psychology. The present formulation, an extension of a theoretical approach begun in 1942 (Allport, 1942) and elaborated elsewhere (Allport, 1954, 1955) involves understanding social phenomena as a function of "collective structuring." Such a concept is offered as a substitute for other terms implying the group as a referent point, e.g., social norm, life space, group mind, etc. This formulation is necessitated by a need to explain the empirically-derived influence on individual behavior in and out of groups without resorting to epiphenomena. Collective structuring implies the interrelating of individual frames of reference with those of others, born out of a personal involvement and "heightened probability of satisfactions through integrated… behaviors." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of the additivity of variables affecting social interaction.

"Groups in which all three variables were predicted to affect interaction in the same direction (i.e., either in favor of or opposed to shift in judgment) showed the greatest consistency in response… . Those Ss for whom two variables pointed to convergence and one opposed it showed more social influence than the Ss for whom two variables opposed convergence. However, this difference was not significant… . Thus prediction of individual behavior in a social interaction situation is possible only when the factors affecting interaction point in the same direction." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The obstinate audience: The influence process from the point of view of social communication.

The social model of man and the scientific model(s) of man and "the relationships of these 2 models in the area of social communication" are discussed. Major findings of research on attitude change are summarized. Communication, given a reasonably large audience, varies in its impart. The audience exercises much more initiative outside the laboratory than it does in the experimental situation. The audience in effect influences the communicator by the role it forces on him. Individuals process new information as a function of their perceived relationship to future audiences. The audience selects from what is offered. "The process of social communication and of the flow of influence in general must be regarded as a transaction. The argument for using the transactional model for scientific purposes is that it opens the door more fully to exploring the intention and behavior of members of the audience and encourages inquiry into the influence of the audience on the communicator by specifically treating the process as a 2-way passage." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)