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Lower‐Status Participation and Influence:Task Structure Matters
Author(s) -
Alexander Michele G.,
Chizhik Alexander W.,
Chizhik Estella W.,
Goodman Jeffrey A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01604.x
Subject(s) - prestige , task (project management) , psychology , social psychology , group (periodic table) , social status , developmental psychology , sociology , social science , philosophy , linguistics , chemistry , organic chemistry , management , economics
Status hierarchies readily form in groups and , once established , limit lower‐status group members’ opportunities for contributing to and influencing group decisions . Recent findings , however , suggest that the type of task on which a group works may allow lower‐status individuals to break through power and prestige orders in a cooperative way while conflicting with ideas of their higher‐status group members . In this article , we review a research program that investigates how task structure relates to status and influence in small groups . In one experiment, using groups of three female students as participants , we found that open‐structured tasks allow lower‐status group members to participate , receive positive evaluations , and improve their status more than closed‐structured tasks . In a second experiment, using groups of two female students and a female experimenter as participants , we found that open‐structured tasks and lower‐status confederates foster more divergent thinking and indirect influence than closed‐structured tasks and higher‐status sources . Our findings contribute to the understanding of how immediate problem‐solving environments contribute to status change and influence in small groups.