Respect and Status PDF

} } Respect: “high or special regard: esteem” Respect is not equated with liking for how students perceive groups in university (Prestwich et al. 2009): ◦ Respect for a group: ability, commitment (“100% effort”), mental toughness (“mentally tough”, “positive in their mental approach”). ◦ Liking for...

} } Respect: “high or special regard: esteem” Respect is not equated with liking for how students perceive groups in university (Prestwich et al. 2009): ◦ Respect for a group: ability, commitment (“100% effort”), mental toughness (“mentally tough”, “positive in their mental approach”). ◦ Liking for a group: fun, friendliness, helpfulness, and similarity (“I enjoy the same things…”). ◦ Respect and liking are distinct but highly related (r ~.66). } When presented individual others, people respect competent others, and like warm and caring others (Wojciszke, Abele, & Baryla, 2009). ◦ Competent others are both respected and liked, but especially respected. ◦ Caring others are both respected and liked, but mostly liked. ◦ This is for judgments of described individuals, as well as for employees’ ratings of their supervisors. } When judging hypothetical peers, people respect competent others in part because competence implies the potential to gain higher status. } Students in high school distinguish between how much they are respected by others and liked by others (Huo et al., 2010). ◦ The “others” are other students, teachers, and school staff. ◦ Felt respect is tied to a) identifying more with the school and helping out at school, and b) higher personal well-being (high on Rosenberg selfesteem scale; few self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms). ◦ Felt liking is tied to higher personal well-being. ◦ Felt respect and liking are correlated highly (r~.54) } } } } How do feelings of pride and respect support volunteering? Pride: in the organization that one is volunteering for. Respect: is the evaluation that one is accepted, appreciated, and valued as a member of the organization. The consequence of feeling pride and feeling respected is psychological commitment to the organization. } Two parts of commitment: ◦ Emotional commitment (e.g., feeling like “part of the family”). ◦ Moral obligation } } Commitment supports the intention to remain in the organization, which is especially important for a volunteer organization. As in the study with high school students, feeling respected ties you to a place. } } } Status: “a position or rank in relation to others” and “relative rank in a hierarchy of prestige” (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. The nature of status in small groups. Subjective social status in society at large. } Status is unidimensional in small task-focused groups. ◦ Patterns of deferential behaviours and of dominant behaviours all fit one overall pattern, which can be represented as a status dimension. ◦ This is seen in established groups. } People are very good at perceiving their own relative status, and that of others, in small groups. ◦ Initial status judgments occur very quickly, based on many cues (e.g., gender, age, language, ethnicity, clothing) – Most status cues are visible or audible. } In terms of society at large, subjective social status has been measured by asking people to place themselves on a 10 rung ladder, defined by occupation, income, and education. ◦ Subjective social status is related to these objective indicators, but not strongly (e.g., r =. 35 from subjective to objective). ◦ Subjective social status is considered important for individuals’ psychological and physical well-being. } In more detail… ◦ Objective SES is related to many health outcomes, from hostility and depression to a range of physical diseases. – Many factors come into play, including access to resources, amount of control, stress, lifestyle, etc. } The argument is that subjective social status is important above and beyond objective social status. ◦ Where people think they stand in terms of status has implications for their well-being. } } The assumption is that individuals with lower subjective status feel less in control of their lives, and this is stressful. Subjective social status has been associated with a wide range of negative conditions. ◦ Depression ◦ Physical ailments } } Nearly all the research is correlational, and causality has been inferred. A critique of this view is that there are 3rd variables that may account for the correlation between subjective social status and wellbeing. ◦ A likely candidate as an important 3rd variable is neuroticism. This is a core personality factor that has a strong genetic heritability component. ◦ Neuroticism is at its core a predisposition to experience negative affect, including anxiety. } Neuroticism is linked to lower status: more neurotic individuals… ◦ See themselves as less desirable when they compare themselves to others. ◦ May in fact be lower in status in certain (male only?) groups. ◦ Actually have lower occupational and income outcomes over the lifespan. } Neuroticism is linked to poorer mental and physical health: more neurotic individuals… ◦ Experience more negative affect on a daily basis. ◦ Are more likely to suffer clinical depression. ◦ Report and actually suffer a wider range of physical ailments. ◦ Die sooner. } In sum, neuroticism is linked to both lower status and worse health. ◦ Neuroticism can account for the association between lower subjective social status and worse mental and physical health. } A longitudinal study in Montreal addressed this issue (Alfonsi, Conway, and Pushkar, 2011). For older adults, more neurotic individuals: ◦ Have lower income and less prestigious occupations, which in turn predict lower subjective social status. ◦ Report more illnesses, which leads to lower subjective status. ◦ Directly have lower subjective social status. } Subjective social status did not predict reported illnesses or negative affect. The implication is that subjective social status is not important. } } } } } } } Judgments of respect are rapid. Accuracy of facial judgments of dominance. Postural dominance cues of the head. Judgments of dominance in group settings. Selective attention to features of dominance. Respect and the vertical dimension. Respect and God in the highest. } Rapid (500ms) judgments of respect (Conway & Horlick, 2009) ◦ Facial photographs are judged on respect received. ◦ Participants then make ratings of competence, leadership ability, compassion and understanding, and physical attractiveness for the same photos. ◦ We examined how respect judgments related to the judgments on the specific dimensions. – Respect goes with greater perceived competence and physical attractiveness. – This held true across gender. } Control participants had no time limit. ◦ They relied on the same relevant features, as well as on leadership ability. } } } Respect ratings were virtually identical across 500ms and control conditions. In sum, people respect those whose facial appearance communicates competence, leadership ability (with more viewing time), and who are more physically attractive. Competence and leadership ability relate closely to dominance… } Participants were provided photos of others, and rated them on dominance/power orientation (Berry, 1990). ◦ No time limit. } } These ratings were compared to the selfratings of those in the photographs. People’s judgments of others’ are accurate, in that they correspond to the others’ selfratings. ◦ Correspondence is not high, however. There was a low to moderate positive correlation. } Research focused on people’s judgments of computer based recreations of actors’ faces, presented at different visual angles. ◦ Angle up leads to more perceived dominance. ◦ Angle down leads to more perceived submission. } Consistent with other research linking height to income and leadership. } Participants expected a discussion with 2 others, and before talking, made ratings of how active and dominant the others were. ◦ How a person was seen by others was positively correlated with how much that person controlled the conversation subsequently (in terms of amount of speaking, gaze, etc.). ◦ This is relevant to respect, as people tend to respect those who dominate. Being seen as dominant is similar to being seen as competent and as having leadership ability. } Is this due only to physical appearance? Unclear, because there was a very short interaction as people looked at each other when they came in and sat down. ◦ A lot can happen in just a few seconds. The focus was on whether people direct their attention to high status others when faced with a ‘crowd.’ Participants were presented arrays of 12 photos, for 4 seconds. There were equal numbers of high and low status photos, but participants overestimated the number of high status photos. This only happened for photos of men, not for photos of women. In a second study, participants were shown, in the first 4 seconds of a 40 second period, to look at the dominant men in an array of 4 photos (2X2 on dominance and attractiveness). ◦ Participants focused on the attractive women in a corresponding array of women. ◦ This was the case across female and male participants. } Power is up. The representation of power/status is embodied. ◦ The mere act of looking up to something provides us with an indication, via our body movement, that who we are looking at is someone that is higher in status/power. } Participants were shown pictures of animals. ◦ More “respect” for powerful animals when the photos were placed higher on the screen. } People represent God in terms of being high on the vertical dimension. ◦ Since people cannot see or hear God, they rely on representations of God that are in terms of their own actual physical experience in life. And so, people tend to place God high up. People do this because vertical space is part of people’s physical experience with the world. This is metaphor: – A metaphor is when one thing is experienced or understood in terms of another. } Participants were presented God-like images and Devil-like images one at a time on the computer screen. ◦ Vertical location varied. } } Participants were then presented each image in the middle of the screen, and were asked to recall location. God-like images were remembered more up; Devil-like images more down.