Examining the Interplay Between Social Status and Competence Understanding Across Development

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Social Cognition

Abstract

Social status is a burgeoning topic in developmental research (Enright, Alonso, Lee, & Olson, 2020; Gülgöz & Gelman, 2017; Mandalaywala, Rhodes, & Tai, 2020). Perceptions about social status have been studied extensively in adults, where social status is defined as respect and admiration voluntarily attributed onto someone by others, leading to social value and influence (Anderson, Hildreth & Howland, 2015; Blader & Chen, 2014; Magee & Galinsky, 2008). It is unclear whether children perceive status in the same manner as adults or whether they view status as similar or equivalent to competence. Children recognize competent others: 5-year-olds know what kind of knowledge people in certain occupations have and endorse competent others who showcase better abilities (Landrum, Mills & Johnston, 2013; Lutz & Keil, 2002). However, someone can be knowledgeable and competent without possessing social status (i.e., respect, admiration, and social value).

We will investigate whether 5- to 10-year-olds and adults ascribe social status either to a competent person with social status features or a person who is only competent. We expect that 5- to 7-year-olds will focus on competence and struggle to understand why and how social status matters, therefore ascribing social status to a person who is only competent. However, adults and older children will distinguish between competence with and without social status, which will allow them to ascribe social status to competent others with status characteristics. Follow-up justifications will assess whether decisions across age groups are founded on attention to social status or competence.
We will ultimately recruit 90 participants (45 5- to 10-year-olds and 45 adults) for virtual participation. So far, 15 children have been tested, and we are confident that the full sample will be obtained by the conference date. A short vignette introduces a set of characters: one character is competent and holds social status in a novel domain (e.g., knows all the rules Kranoot and the person who peers listen to and go to for help). Another character is only described as competent (e.g., knows all the rules for Kranoot). Participants are asked who they think holds respect, admiration, and social value (e.g., “Who do you think is the most important to the group?...Why?” and “Who is really appreciated by the group?”). An adaptation of the social rope task (Mandalaywala et al., 2020) enables participants to rank each character. Logistic regression will determine if age predicts whether participants choose the competent character with status versus the solely competent character for each measure. Follow-up tests will determine performance against chance.

In the outside world, competence does not always implicate that someone is respected, admired, or socially valued. Future research should aim to disentangle whether group characteristics impact children’s decisions about social status and competence. Among adults, competent women who obtain leadership positions are rejected and receive backlash more than men (Eagly & Wood, 2012; Rudman et al., 2012). It is critical to determine the developmental origins of these attributions; exploring the emergence of social status understanding is one important step in this direction.

Authors

• Andrea C. Yuly-Youngblood, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  Presenting Author

• Janet J Boseovski, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  Non-Presenting Author