Cheating to get ahead or to avoid falling behind? The effect of potential negative versus positive status change on unethical behavior

Pettit, Nathan C.; Doyle, Sarah; Lount, Robert B.; To, Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.09.005

Cited by 63 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…As such, we expect people to strive to retain any accoutrement of higher positions, even if doing so limits effective acculturation to their new context. This fits with prospect theory perspectives, which suggest that people ought to react more strongly to experienced losses-even engaging in unethical behavior to prevent such loss-than to gains (e.g., Pettit, Doyle, Lount, & To, 2016).…”

Section: Downward Mobilitysupporting

confidence: 76%

Social class transitions: Three guiding questions for moving the study of class to a dynamic perspective

Phillips

Martin

Belmi

2020

Social & Personality Psych

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We argue that social psychological theories of social class should move toward a more dynamic view that considers class change experiences to supplement more static perspectives focused on backgrounds or current positions. Indeed, social class is a unique demographic form of hierarchy because of its dynamism: social class is relatively malleable compared to race and gender; it can change multiple times in one's lifespan; and unlike age, it is something individuals can strive to change and that they often believe is possible to change. We review work from a variety of fields, including sociology, psychology, and organizational behavior, that begins to tackle the question of social class change experiences. Drawing on theories of social class transitions, acculturation, and identity change, we present an organizing framework suggesting three objective, structural features of social class change that should inform individuals' experience of changing class: What direction am I going (resource expectations)? How did I get here (predictability)? Where should I be (social comparisons)? We review emerging work as well as gaps in existing theory and suggest avenues for future research.

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Section: Downward Mobilitysupporting

confidence: 76%

Social class transitions: Three guiding questions for moving the study of class to a dynamic perspective

Phillips

Martin

Belmi

2020

Social & Personality Psych

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“…If Easterners construe themselves primarily in terms of their meaningful social relationships (versus in terms of one's own unique personal attributes), then they are likely to have a more communal view of status, whereby the experience of status is inherently shared among ingroup members. Westerners are more likely to view and experience their status as if it was an individual possession (i.e., “my” status)—which is closely aligned with the current characterization in the status literature (Pettit et al, )—whereas Easterners are perhaps more likely to view it as a collective possession (i.e., “our” status).…”

Section: Where Does Status Reside?supporting

confidence: 74%

“…This characterization of the benefits and costs of status is aligned with arguments in the status literature about how people psychologically experience their status. Although status is a property of a social relationship and thus is not an individual possession (Magee & Galinsky, ), people experience their status as if it is a social object that they possess and thus becomes incorporated into the self (Pettit, Doyle, Lount, & To, ). These arguments imply that people treat their status as if it is theirs and theirs alone because it is experienced as a property of the self.…”

Section: Where Does Status Reside?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross‐cultural review and perspective on status striving

Kim

Pettit

2019

Social & Personality Psych

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A significant body of research on the motives and pathways to attaining status has accumulated in the last few decades. At the same time, many of the commonly held assumptions and established findings in the status literature are drawn from research conducted in industrialized Western cultures. In this article, we review several fundamental differences between two widely studied cultures-Eastern and Western cultures-and propose that the core premises in the status literature map far more neatly onto what is known about Western cultures and less well onto what is known of Eastern cultures. More specifically, we examine crosscultural differences with respect to the meaning of status, motives underlying status pursuits, and the pathways that lead to status. We note how the reasons behind status pursuits may diverge among people from these two cultures, and how the behaviors that people employ when striving for status in Western cultures may not be effective in Eastern cultures. We conclude by proposing several avenues for future research.

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“…However, there may be a downside to such practices because a large body of research has documented the different ways in which position uncertainty and instability of team roles can undermine group functioning. For example, unethical work behaviour, such as cheating, is more likely to emerge when this can prevent a possible status loss than when it can result in a possible status gain (Pettit, Doyle, Lount, & To, 2016). Further, research on opinion-based groups has shown that when one's position is no longer supported by others, and people experience a shift from majority to minority status, this undermines group attractiveness and identification (Prislin, Limbert, & Bauer, 2000).…”

Section: Behavioural and Attitudinal Effects Of Hierarchy Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and the stability of social systems: A review of neurophysiological research

Scheepers

Ellemers

2018

European Review of Social Psychology

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Current societies are characterised by unprecedented change in demographic, economic and political terms. These changes may be rather stressful, especially for those who have most to lose, that is members of (formerly) highstatus groups. In this contribution, we review research on the influence of hierarchy stability on physiological stress, making a distinction between the cardiovascular correlates of negative stress ("threat") and positive stress ("challenge"). Results from six studies reveal that when hierarchies are stable those low in rank show threat, while when hierarchies are unstable, those high in rank show threat and those low in rank show challenge. These effects occur independently of whether rank is based on power or status, or on interpersonal or inter-group comparisons. Results are discussed in terms of theories on power and identity, and implications for (interventions for) inter-group conflict and health.

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Cheating to get ahead or to avoid falling behind? The effect of potential negative versus positive status change on unethical behavior

Cited by 63 publications

References 90 publications

Social class transitions: Three guiding questions for moving the study of class to a dynamic perspective

Social class transitions: Three guiding questions for moving the study of class to a dynamic perspective

A cross‐cultural review and perspective on status striving

Stress and the stability of social systems: A review of neurophysiological research

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