Data collection in progress | Dissertation
Status characteristics theory applies in task-oriented, collectively-oriented settings, but status structures often seem to persist beyond task groups. For example, when a meeting disbands and employees go to lunch together, we tend to see that the manager does most of the talking, guides the discussion, and so on–just as we would expect in a task group. I conducted a pilot study experimentally testing the conditions under which status structures that arise in task groups continue to produce behavioral inequality in social groups. Pilot results support the hypothesis that when actors anticipate future task-oriented interaction, the status structure continues to affect behavior even in social groups. The full study is in progress.
Manuscript in progress | Zara Jillani and Joseph Dippong
This study examines whether people perceive higher status actors as more or less likely to honestly report the amount of work that they do compared to lower status actors. We expect that those with higher status characteristics are more likely to exaggerate their performance, and we use this vignette study as a proof of concept ahead of a laboratory experiment (under way) that behaviorally tests this prediction.
Data analysis in progress | Dawn T. Robinson, Zara Jillani, Aahana Shankaran, Makayla Stephens
This is a methodological study comparing the behavioral predictions of AI models and of affect control theory (ACT) to human behavioral predictions; that is, do AI predictions or ACT predictions more closely match human predictions? If AI models more closely match human predictions, can AI supplement ACT research?
Data collection in progress | Zara Jillani and Will Kalkhoff
This meta-analysis examines whether status effects of personal and social characteristics (e.g., race and gender) have changed over time. Both published and unpublished research reports mixed findings regarding the behavioral inequality that characteristics like gender produce, and the trend of non-significant findings appears to be increasing. We compare changes in effects of social characteristics to those of specific ability characteristics to determine if some social characteristics are losing their status value or if methodological changes explain any differences.