Dissociative Status

Status can be grabbed (the dominance pathway) or granted (the prestige pathway). And sometimes it's granted to those who signal social distance between themselves and others.

By Jen Overbeck in status studies research

July 24, 2021

Survey Studies

Status is typically awarded to people who show two key qualities: competence and willingness to contribute to the group. Scholars assume that anyone not showing these qualities is pursuing status through a dominance strategy–seizing status through force and fear. We demonstrate another viable path: People can inspire others to willingly grant them status (commonly called the prestige pathway) by displaying dissociative cues, such as defiance or exclusivity.

We’ve conducted online studies where participants rate others.


MBA Student Groups

We’ve studied real, interacting groups.

Posted on:
July 24, 2021
Length:
1 minute read, 85 words
Categories:
status studies research
Tags:
status prestige-dominance dissociative
See Also:
Status Instability
Status & Safety