Statut solo

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PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETINSekaquaptewa, Thompson / SOLO STATUSThe Differential Effects of Solo Status onMembers of High- and Low-Status GroupsDenise SekaquaptewaMischa ThompsonUniversity of MichiganIndividuals experience solo status when they are the only mem- Solo status is defined as being the only member ofbers of their social category (e.g., gender or race) present in a one’s social category in an otherwise homogenous groupgroup.Fieldresearchindicatesthatwomenandracialminorities (Lord & Saenz, 1985; Saenz & Lord, 1989). One of thearemoredebilitatedbysolostatusthanWhitemen.However,lab - key elements in defining solo status is context. For exam-oratory research indicates that men and women are equally debil- ple, a woman would not be a solo in the context of aitatedassolos.Wenotedthatlaboratorystudiesintroducedsolo mixed-gender workplace but would be in the ofstatus during learning, whereas field research examined solo sta- an all-male engineering class. Solo status arises from thetus at performance.Therefore, we predicted that high and low context and not group status per se and should thus besocial status group members would be differentially influenced understood as a situational condition, not necessarily aby solo status experienced during testing.In two laboratory chronic state or stigma (Crocker, Major, & Steele, 1998;experiments, men and women and African Americans and Frable, Blackstone, & Scherbaum, 1990; Goffman ...

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• Publié par: kiff
• Nombre de lectures: 222
• Langue: Français

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PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Seakquatpew,aT homospn /S OLO STATUS

The Differential Effects of Solo Status on Members of High and Low-Status Groups -

Denise Sekaquaptewa Mischa Thompson University of Michigan

Individuals experience solo status when they are the only mem - bers of their social category (e.g., gender or race) present in a group.Field research indicates that women and racial minorities are more debilitated by solo status than White men.However, lab - oratory research indicates that men and women are equally debil - itated as solos.We noted that laboratory studies introduced solo status during learning, whereas field research examined solo sta- tus at performance.Therefore, we predicted that high and low social status group members would be differentially influenced by solo status experienced during testing.In two laboratory experiments, men and women and African Americans and Whites experienced solo status during an oral examination.In Experiment 1, White women performed more poorly than White men taking the exam before an opposite-sex (but same-race) audi- ence.In Experiment 2, African American women performed more poorly than White women taking the exam before an other- race (but same-gender) audience. R esearch on the experience of lower status or disad - vantaged group members in the businessworld (Kanter, 1977), classroom (Niemann & Dovidio, 1998; Steele & Aronson, 1995), and the laboratory (Lord & Saenz, 1985) suggests that the smaller the number of other dis - advantaged group members present, the more negative is the experience for the individual. Disadvantaged group members (e.g., women and racial minorities) who find themselves to be one of very few or even the only such person in the workplace report lower job satisfac - tion (Niemann & Dovidio, 1998), job proficiency, and involvement in group tasks (Garland & Price, 1977; Hall & Hall, 1976; Kanter, 1977). This line of research began with Kanter’s (1977) qualitative analysis of busi - nesswomen working in a predominantly male environ - ment. Since this groundbreaking work, much field and laboratory research has focused on solo status.

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Solo status is defined as being the only member of one’s social category in an otherwise homogenous group (Lord & Saenz, 1985; Saenz & Lord, 1989). One of the key elements in defining solo status is context. For exam - ple, a woman would not be a solo in the context of a mixed-gender workplace but would be in the context of an all-male engineering class. Solo status arises from the context and not group status per se and should thus be understood as a situational condition, not necessarily a chronic state or stigma (Crocker, Major, & Steele, 1998; Frable, Blackstone, & Scherbaum, 1990; Goffman, 1963). 1 FIELD RESEARCH ON SOLO STATUS Much field research has focused on the perception of solos by other group members. Kanter (1977) found that women working in predominantly male environments experience greater visibility and scrutiny of their work, as well as confinement to stereotypic roles, such as office pet, seductress, or cold “iron maiden.” In addition, these Authors’ Note: Experiment 1 was completed as part of a doctoral dis - sertation by the first author, chaired by Bill von Hippel and Marilynn Brewer at the Ohio State University. Experiment 2 was completed as part of a master’s thesis by the second author, completed at the Univer - sity of Michigan. This research was funded in part by a grant from the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and by a predoctoral National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship and Rackham School of Graduate Studies Merit Fellowship to the second author. The authors wish to thank Jenny Crocker, James Hilton, James Jackson, and Chris Peterson for their comments on an earlier draft of this article and Ryan Busci for his help in Experiment 1. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Denise Sekaquaptewa or Mischa Thompson, Department of Psychol - ogy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109; e-mail: [e-mail] or [e-mail]. PSPB, Vol. 28 No. 5, May 2002 694-707 © 2002 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.