Abstract
Status construction theory offers a framework for investigating inequality-justifying consequences of microlevel encounters. While organizational role hierarchies (e.g., manager-employee or customer-server) dominate our daily encounters with categorically different others, there is no systematic empirical evaluation of the status construction effect of role hierarchies. I replicated the classic status construction experiment both in the lab and online to answer these questions. Results show that (1) the categorical membership consistently associated with a high-status role was stereotypically perceived as more respectable and leader-like but not more competent compared with the group linked to a low-status role and (2) only behavioral experience of the role hierarchy was sufficient to produce consensual status beliefs. Future implications and limitations are discussed.
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