We conducted two experiments to test the effects of status on the relationship between gender and role-taking accuracy. Role-taking accuracy denotes the accuracy with which one can predict another’s behavior. In Study 1, we examine self-evaluative measures of role-taking accuracy and find they do not correlate with actual role-taking accuracy. In addition, women were more accurate role-takers than men, regardless of interaction history. In Study 2, we disentangle gender differences from status differences, hypothesizing that role-taking accuracy is structurally situated. To test this hypothesis, we examine variations in role-taking accuracy when interaction partners are assigned differential status. Results indicate that status differentials account for variations in role-taking accuracy, whereas gender and gender composition of the dyad do not.
BergerJosephFisekM. HamitNormanRobert Z.ZelditchMorrisJr.1977. Status Characteristics and Social Interaction: An Expectation States Approach. New York: Elsevier.
2.
BergerJosephFisekM. HamitRidgewayCecilia L.NormanRobert Z.1998. “The Legitimation and Delegitimation of Power and Prestige Orders.” American Sociological Review63(3):379–405.
3.
BlumbergRae Lesser. 1984. “A General Theory of Gender Stratification.” Sociological Theory2(1):23–101.
4.
BlumsteinPhilipSchwartzPepper. 1983. American Couples: Money, Work and Sex. New York: William Morrow.
5.
BlumsteinPhilipSchwartzPepper. 1991. “Money and Ideology: Their Impact on Power and the Division of Household Labor.” Pp. 261–88 in Gender, Family and Economy: The Triple Overlap, edited by BlumbergR. L.Newbury Park and London: Sage.
6.
CastAlicia D.2003. “Power and the Ability to Define the Situation.” Social Psychology Quarterly66(3):185–201.
7.
CastAlicia D.2004a. “Role-Taking and Interaction.” Social Psychology Quarterly67(3):296–309.
8.
CastAlicia D.2004b. “Well-Being and the Transition to Parenthood: An Identity Theory Approach.” Sociological Perspectives47(1):55–78.
9.
CastAlicia D.BirdSharon R.2005. “Participation in Household and Paid Labor: Effects on Perceptions of Role-Taking Ability.” Social Psychology Quarterly68(2):143–59.
10.
CoutuWalter. 1951. “Role-Playing vs. Role-Taking: An Appeal for Clarification.” American Sociological Review16(2):180–87.
11.
EisenbergNancyLennonRandy. 1983. “Sex Differences in Empathy and Related Capacities.” Psychological Bulletin94(1):100–131.
12.
EisenbergNancyShellRitaPasternackJeannetteLennonRandyBelterRobMathyRobin M.1987. “Prosocial Development in Middle Childhood: A Longitudinal Study.” Developmental Psychology23(5):712–18.
13.
EmersonRichard M.1962. “Power-Dependence Relations.” American Sociological Review27(1):31–41.
14.
FlavellJohn H.1974. “The Development of Inferences about Others.” Pp. 66–116 in Understanding Other Persons, edited by MischelT.London: Academic Press.
15.
ForteJames A.1998. “Power and Role-Taking: A Review of Theory, Research, and Practice.” Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment1(4):27–56.
16.
GerberGwendolyn. 1996. “Status in Same-Gender and Mixed-Gender Police Dyads: Effects on Personality Attributions.” Social Psychology Quarterly59(4):350–63.
17.
GerberGwendolyn. 2001. Women and Men Police Officers: Status, Gender, and Personality. Westport, CT: Praeger.
18.
GerberGwendolyn. 2009a. “Status and the Gender Stereotyped Personality Traits: Toward an Integration.” Sex Roles61(5–6):297–316.
19.
GerberGwendolyn. 2009b. “Status, Personality, and Gender Stereotyping: Response to Commentators.” Sex Roles61(5–6):352–60.
20.
GerthHans H.MillsC. Wright. 1946. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
GitterA. GeorgeBlackHarveyMostofskyDavid. 1972. “Race and Sex in the Communication of Emotion.” Journal of Social Psychology88(2):273–76.
22.
GoarCarlaSellJane. 2005. “Using Task Definition to Modify Racial Inequality within Task Groups.” Sociological Quarterly46(3):525–43.
23.
HallJudith A.1978. “Gender Effects in Decoding Nonverbal Cues.” Psychological Bulletin85(4):845–57.
24.
HowellsJ. M.BrosnanPeter. 1972. “The Ability to Predict Workers’ Preferences: A Research Exercise.” Human Relations25(3):265–81.
25.
JohnsonCathryn. 1994. “Gender, Legitimate Authority, and Leader-Subordinate Conversations.” American Sociological Review59(1):122–35.
26.
KellerMonika. 1976. “Development of Role-Taking Ability: Social Antecedents and Consequences for School Success.” Human Development19(2):120–32.
27.
LauerRobert H.BoardmanLinda. 1971. “Role-Taking: Theory, Typology, and Propositions.” Sociology and Social Research55(2):137–48.
28.
LawlerEdward J.ThyeShane R.YoonJeongkoo. 2008. “Social Exchange and Micro Social Order.” American Sociological Review73(4):519–42.
29.
LucasJeffrey W.2003. “Status Processes and the Institutionalization of Women as Leaders.” American Sociological Review68(3):464–80.
30.
MeadGeorge Herbert. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
31.
MeekerB. F.Weitzel-O’NeillP. A.1977. “Sex Roles and Interpersonal Behavior in Task-Oriented Groups.” American Sociological Review42(1):91–105.
32.
MillerDavid L.1981. “The Meaning of Role-Taking.” Symbolic Interaction4(2):167–75.
33.
NisbettRichard E.WilsonTimothy D.1977. “Telling More Than We Can Know: Verbal Reports on Mental Processes.” Psychological Review84(3):231–59.
34.
PagerDevahQuillianLincoln. 2005. “Walking the Talk? What Employers Say Versus What They Do.” American Sociological Review70(3):355–80.
35.
PreissJ. J.EhrlichH. J.1966. An Examination of Role Theory. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
36.
RidgewayCecilia L.1987. “Nonverbal Behavior, Dominance, and the Basis of Status in Task Groups.” American Journal of Sociology52(5):683–94.
37.
RidgewayCecilia L.2006. “Linking Social Structure and Interpersonal Behavior: A Theoretical Perspective on Cultural Schemas and Social Relations.” Social Psychology Quarterly69(1):5–16.
38.
RidgewayCecilia L.2011. Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World. New York: Oxford University Press.
39.
RidgewayCecilia L.2014. “Why Does Status Matter for Inequality?”American Sociological Review79(1):1–16.
40.
RidgewayCecilia L.BergerJoseph. 1986. “Expectations, Legitimation, and Dominance Behavior In Task Groups.” American Sociological Review51(5):603–617.
41.
RidgewayCecilia L.BourgChris. 2004. “Gender as Status: An Expectation States Theory Approach.” Pp. 217–41 in The Psychology of Gender, edited by EaglyA. H.BeallA. E.SternbergR. J.New York: Guilford.
42.
RidgewayCecilia L.CorrellShelley J.2004. “Unpacking the Gender System: A Theoretical Perspective on Gender Beliefs and Social Relations.” Gender & Society18(4):510–31.
43.
RidgewayCecilia L.CorrellShelley J.2006. “Consensus and the Creation of Status Beliefs.” Social Forces85(1):431–53.
44.
RidgewayCecilia L.EricksonKristan Glasgow. 2000. “Creating and Spreading Status Beliefs.” American Journal of Sociology106(3):579–615.
45.
RidgewayCecilia L.Smith-LovinLynn. 1999. “The Gender System and Interaction.” Annual Review of Sociology25:191–216.
46.
RismanBarbara J.2004. “Gender as a Social Structure: Theory Wrestling with Activism.” Gender & Society18(4):429–50.
47.
RosenthalRobertArcherDaneDiMasticoM. RobinKoivumakiJudith HallRogersPeter L.1974. “Body Talk and Tone of Voice: The Language without Words.” Psychology TodaySeptember:64–68.
48.
RosipJanelle C.HallJudith A.2004. “Knowledge of Nonverbal Cues, Gender, and Nonverbal Decoding Accuracy.” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior28(4):267–86.
49.
SchantzCaroline. 1975. “Social Cognition.” Pp. 495–555 in Manual of Child Psychology, 3rd ed., edited by MussenP.New York: Wiley.
50.
SchwalbeMichael L.1988. “Role Taking Reconsidered: Linking Competence and Performance to Social Structure.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour18(4):411–36.
51.
SellJaneKuipersKathy J.2009. “A Structural Social Psychological Perspective on Gender Differences in Cooperation.” Sex Roles61(5–6):317–24.
52.
SherohmanJames. 1977. “Conceptual and Methodological Issues in the Study of Role-Taking Accuracy.” Symbolic Interaction1(1):121–31.
53.
StetsJan E.1993. “Control in Dating Relationships.” Journal of Marriage and Family55(3):673–85.
54.
ThomasDarwin L.FranksDavid D.CalonicoJames M.1972. “Role-Taking and Power in Social Psychology.” American Sociological Review37(5):605–614.
55.
TurnerRalph H.1956. “Role-Taking, Role Standpoint, and Reference-Group Behavior.” American Journal of Sociology61:316–28.
56.
WebsterMurrayRashotteLisa. 2009. “Fixed Roles and Situated Actions.” Sex Roles61(4):325–37.
57.
WheelerStanton. 1961. “Socialization in Correctional Communities.” American Sociological Review26(5):697–712.
58.
WilsonTimothy D.DunnElizabeth W.2004. “Self-Knowledge: Its Limits, Value, and Potential for Improvement.” Annual Review of Psychology55:493–518.
59.
ZelditchMorrisJr.WalkerHenry A.1984. “Legitimacy and the Stability of Authority.” Pp. 1–27 in Advances in Group Processes: Theory and Research, Vol. 1, edited by LawlerE.Greenwhich, CT: JAI.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
