Advances In Group Processes, Volume 41: Volume 41

We review the major developments that have occurred in identity theory since 2014, when we last reviewed the theory in Advances in Group Processes.

Our focus is on changes and developments in the theory itself rather than a review of the substantive findings of research using the theory.

During the past decade, there have been important conceptualizations to the identity process to help refine it, which we discuss. We also include a more precise way of measuring the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional responses to identity nonverification, which earlier were expressed in verbal terms rather than mathematical terms. We discuss advances in conceptualizing identity characteristics, such as identity prominence and salience, and we add identity dispersion to these conceptualizations. Over the past decade, there has been more integration of the perceptual and structural foci in identity theory, showing the unity of one theory. We can see this in how the identity–society relationship has been explicated in more detail, which we highlight. Identity theory continues to integrate with other theories, and we discuss how this integration has occurred most closely with exchange theory during the past decade. Finally, advances in substantive areas have been made such as new research on racial/ethnic identities and counter-normative and stigmatized identities, and we briefly review this work.

We show the many ways identity theory has advanced in the past 10 years. We anticipate that developments in the next 10 years will be just as exciting.

Previous discussions have characterized hookup culture as ambiguous by nature, but social psychological theory tells us people dislike ambiguity in practice. Meanwhile, a myriad of undefined relationship terms (e.g., talking to, hanging out, having a thing) arose and have remained in use. I examine (1) whether these different “situationship” labels have distinct affective meaning and (2) what that suggests for those occupying the concomitant identities (i.e., assess the behavioral and emotional consequences of being “someone in a _____ relationship”).

Using affect control theory and a sample of young adults in defined (N = 50) and undefined (N = 43) relationship types, I test if affective ratings of various relationship label identities are statistically distinct. I then computationally model social events with each relationship label as actor (X identity performs [behavior]), compare their differing levels of social discomfort, and empirically predict the emotions each identity would feel.

Undefined relationship labels are not synonymous. Correspondingly, the nature, emotions, and expected behaviors of the individuals with those labels' related relational identities are not equivalent. In cultural evaluation, all undefined relationship labels are lower than all defined relationship labels. In event simulations, predicted deflection levels and actor consequent emotions (how normative is it and how jarring does it feel) were patterned by the labels' cultural evaluation ratings, these correlate with relationship commitment level.

By interpersonal necessity, individuals make fine distinctions in shared meanings within a cultural context of constant redefinition. Physically and emotionally negative behaviors are culturally more expected and accepted in undefined contexts by the culturally-understood nature of – and shared perspectives of participants concerning – those relationships’ parameters.

Answering two questions: What do people believe is the gender makeup of different occupations? If there is a systematic difference between the actual and perceived gender composition what factors predict or mediate this difference?

We integrate three occupation-level datasets: ratings of perceived gender composition and cultural sentiments (EPA ratings) for every 2010 Census occupation collected for this study, occupational characteristics from O*NET, and demographic characteristics from the 2015 to 2019 Current Population Survey. Regression models examine the association between sentiments and objective occupational traits on the perceived gender composition net of the actual gender composition.

While respondents underestimate extreme values, perceptions largely reflect actual composition. Gendered sentiments had a significant independent effect on gender composition perceptions. Examining the relationship between objective occupational features, sentiments, and perceptions allows scholars to better understand the links between structural conditions, gendered beliefs, and social action. If individuals underestimate the extent of gender segregation and view some occupations as more diverse than they are, they may be more willing to consider occupations inconsistent with their gender identity. On the other hand, if they misperceive gender composition because of cultural sentiments, they may choose an occupational course somewhat different from their intentions.

Research on gender composition typically employs either a macro approach based on governmental statistics or a micro approach that examines a limited number of occupations. This is the first study to conduct a complete census of every Census occupation for perceived gender composition and cultural sentiments.

This paper pairs insights from social exchange theory with scholarship on ingroup preferences. We ask: how do the structure and diversity of the exchange network in which an actor is embedded at time 1 impact subsequent trust toward an unmet individual at time 2? The goal is to understand whether and how the structures in which people are embedded have lasting, downstream effects on behavior, even toward those whom they might be inclined to distrust.

We randomly assign participants to repeated exchange tasks with different structures (productive, reciprocal, or generalized) with alters who either share or do not share a salient social identity. After a period of interaction in their exchange structure, participants decide whether, and how much, to trust a new alter who either shares or does not share their social identity in a one-shot trust decision.

Participants embedded in productive exchange networks are more likely than those in generalized or reciprocal exchange networks to trust an unmet interaction partner. Moreover, while trust is higher when the trustee is an ingroup member, this relationship is moderated by the form of exchange. Trust is not lower toward outgroup trustees when the truster was previously embedded in reciprocal exchange.

Our findings collectively suggest that prior exchange structures can affect the extent to which people trust unmet others from different groups. They also imply that extended exposure to, and prosocial interactions with, outgroup others may not be a core prerequisite of intergroup trust.

We investigate how information about the refusal and acceptance of offered resources affects the distribution of benefits to self and others in reciprocal exchanges. We distinguish contexts that allow individuals to know whether offered benefits were accepted or refused from contexts that do not. In the process, we also examine how the perceived probability of possible refusal and the actual experience of refusal affect the distribution of benefits.

We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment.

Results show people give more when the context allows them to discern whether offers were accepted or refused, but having information about the structure of the network, which may increase the perceived probability of overt rejection, erases this effect. Results also show that in contrast to contexts that inform individuals about the acceptance or refusal of offers, the actual experience of being refused depresses giving.

This study examines giving behaviors in one specific network arrangement, leaving unanswered whether the findings reported here hold for larger, more complex networks. Future work should also examine how gender may affect giving behaviors in these contexts, with a particular focus on how it might affect responses to experiencing refusal.

Refusal in reciprocity has been undertheorized and methodologically excluded from exchange studies. We acknowledge that offering a resource does not mean one will accept it and investigate how uncertainty about whether an offered resource will be accepted or refused affects how people distribute resources. We also consider and experimentally test how the perceived probability and the actual experience of being overtly refused affect the distribution of resources.

Status characteristics theory states that influence in small groups reflects the distribution of group members' status characteristics. This process is mediated by expectations for task performance. Vocal accommodation is an unobtrusive measure that indicates expectations. We test whether vocal accommodation predicts influence and then examine the role of expectations in this process.

We conducted a laboratory experiment in which status-differ-entiated dyads completed a collective problem-solving task. We use a common measure of vocal accommodation to predict influence, and we employ questionnaire data to measure performance expectations. We hypothesize that the actor that exerts more effort in the synchronization process will have less influence over group decisions and that performance expectations will mediate the effect.

Results from GSEM analyses of 65 dyads show that levels of vocal accommodation significantly predict influence. Further analysis shows that performance expectations mediate a significant portion of the relationship between AAR and influence.

Vocal accommodation is useful for predicting both status perceptions and influence. Since this technique is an unobtrusive measure, it presents new possibilities for status research, including opening new lines of theoretical inquiry, providing a tool for conducting replications outside of the standard experimental setting, and for examining status organizing processes in a variety of environments.

We present a novel method for examining status outcomes, including a measure of influence that is analogous to existing measures that status scholars use but which is more suitable for studying status processes in open interaction.

To investigate whether individuals more closely associate characteristics of effective leaders with men compared to women and whether those associations advantage men in interactions.

An online survey and a laboratory experiment. The online survey had participants evaluate characteristics they most closely associated with effective leaders, men in general, or women in general. The laboratory experiment assigned participants fictitious partners before they completed an ambiguous task. Partners were men or women, and instructions did or did not describe contrast sensitivity ability as related to leadership ability.

In Study 1, participants evaluated characteristics of men in general more closely to the characteristics of effective leaders than they did the characteristics of women in general. Findings showed this effect to be driven by responses from male participants. In Study 2, the influence gap between male and female partners widened significantly in a direction that advantaged men when study instructions described contrast sensitivity as being positively correlated with leadership ability.

Individuals associate characteristics of effective leadership in ways that advantage men and that those associations advantage men in interactions.

Results indicate that even if differences in competency expectations between women and men were to disappear, women might remain disadvantaged in interactions with implications for leadership.

The paper conclusively demonstrates that participants in the samples associated men more than women with leadership ability/effectiveness and that the associations advantaged men in interactions. These results have broad implications for research in status, gender, and leadership.

This study explores the coping strategies employed by people of color in response to racial discrimination and examines how cultural norms inform these strategies.

In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 34 Black and Asian Americans about their experiences with racial discrimination.

Findings reveal that participants cope through humor, seeking social support on social media, from family and friends, and through avoidant coping strategies. Seeking social support from empathetic others, especially when they shared the same racial background as participants, contributes to feelings of comfort, sanity, and a sense of community. Group differences emerge in seeking family support with Black Americans more likely to seek parental support, likely because of racial socialization practices by their parents that prepared them for experiencing bias. Asian Americans preferred talking to siblings or cousins, citing a cultural gap between them and their parents.

The study underscores the importance of considering the quality of social support, not just its use, as a buffer against harms related to discrimination.

Racial discrimination is a routine experience for many people of color. This study demonstrates how the type of coping strategy matters for coping with the distress that often accompanies these experiences.

In contrast to monoracial-focused studies, this research demonstrates the convergence and divergence of coping strategies among different racial groups.

Status characteristics and status cues theories posit that those with highly valued status attributes are expected to be more competent and influential than their lower status/skilled task partners. With a focus on beauty and a task cue we term “working smart,” our aim was to specify the combined attributes that led certain women to attain higher status than their female, dyadic task partners.

Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we reanalyzed data from a published study about the impact of women's beauty on a paraverbal measure of status. The approach determines how combined conditions, such as being attractive and task efficient, explain an outcome, such as a status difference, between partners. QCA was paired with qualitative coding of interactants' speech to further interrogate the data.

More task-efficient women always attained higher status than their partners, yet a status difference was stronger if the more efficient partner was beautiful. Although gendered deviance was found to lower women's relative status, it does not constitute a status violation.

Social and Research Implications: Variants of expectation states theory are supported based on our unique QCA approach. Applying QCA as a triangulation tool to evaluate the validity of past findings is a novel usage. Social psychology benefits from QCA's ability to treat micro-level data.

“Working smart” was always associated with higher relative social status but not always beauty or task ability. After 50 years, the “what is beautiful is good” thesis continues to be supported and expanded to “what is beautiful works smarter.”