Lisa Troyer

Whose expectations matter ? The relative power of first- and second-order expectations in determining social influence

Two types of expectations are proposed to guide social interaction: those one holds for herself (first‐order expectations) and those one believes others hold for her (second‐order expectations). Also, interaction is assumed to be guided by three motives: contributing to group performance, preserving status, and facilitating interaction. These points are developed by formally incorporating ideas regarding reflected self‐appraisals, dramaturgical accounts of the interaction order, and expectancy‐value theory into status characteristics theory. When first‐ and second‐order expectations conflict and an actors motives are equally weighted, it is suggested that second‐order expectations guide interaction. An initial experiment provides empirical support and insight for discussion.

The Implications of Racial Misclassification by Observers

We hypothesize that individuals who self-identify with one racial group but are routinely perceived by observers as “looking like” another racial group may experience negative outcomes associated with this stressful situation. Since American Indians experience very high rates of misclassification, we use them as our case in point. Drawing from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, our analyses compare young American Indian adults who are perceived as another race by an observer to those who are correctly classified, using several indicators of psychological distress: depression, suicidal thoughts, use of psychological counseling services, suicide attempts, and fatalism. We also investigate differences in racial attitudes and behaviors, such as belonging to an ethnic solidarity organization or believing it is important to have a committed relationship with someone of the same race. The evidence suggests that, onthe whole, misclassified American Indians have higher rates of psychological distress. We conclude by discussing our findings and their wider implications, especially in the context of an increasingly heterogeneous and multiracial society.

Social structure and the duration of social acts

Sociological social psychological theories emphasize that patterns in social interaction are linked inextricably to social structure. To date, however, most studies have focused on frequencies of various social acts that constitute interaction; little attention has been given to patterns related to time. In a brief overview we describe how existing social psychological knowledge regarding the link between structure and action can be extended to predict durations of social acts by group members. In particular, we theorize how three social structures-status structure, authority structure, and sentiment structure-may govern the durations of social acts and their relations to perceptions of social influence. The incorporation of act duration suggests how combinations of social structures either increase or decrease the efficiency with which social influence is exercised. We offer an initial test of arguments generated by our theoretical framework on data from experimental groups. Our results suggest that the effects of these social structures on duration patterns are generally consistent with our claims, but subtle. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for further research on time in social interaction.

Speech Duration and Dependencies in Initially Structured and Unstructured Task Groups

We examine whether speech durations and speech content vary by social structure in groups and the content of preceding speeches. When actors are structural equals in groups, an observable interaction order emerges from interaction processes. When we experimentally impose authority, skill, or sentiment structures, structural advantage is related to longer speech durations. When structures are combined such that an actor is advantaged in more than one social structure, then the actor engages in shorter speech durations, although dominance (as measured by perceived contributions to the group) remains high for the actor. In addition, the likelihood that an actor contributes a solution to a group problem or invites other contributions is highly dependent on whether the preceding speech included positive feedback. The expected interdependence between contributions and invitations to contribute was not evident in our data. Thus our research provides new insight on the sequential dependencies between speech acts in groups.

POWER, STATUS, AND COLLECTIVE ACTION: DEVELOPING FUNDAMENTAL THEORIES TO ADDRESS A SUBSTANTIVE PROBLEM

We develop elements of Network Exchange and Expectation States Theories to explain the relationship between power and status. While power and status are highly correlated, demonstrating that power can be used to attain high status has proven difficult, perhaps because negative reactions to power use limit power users’ influence. We propose three ways to reduce negative reactions to power use. One of them, philanthropy, suggests a solution to the “free-rider” problem in collective action. If philanthropic contributions increase status, then contributing to a public good may also. Thus, status attainment may be an incentive motivating public goods contributions.

Do Others' Views of Us Transfer to New Groups and Tasks?: An Expectation States Approach.

The dual nature of the self has been a core concern of social psychology since its inception. We contribute to this longstanding tradition of inquiry by focusing on two lines of research within the expectation states theoretical research program: (1) the study of second-order expectations and (2) research on the durability of expectations. We argue that individuals give priority to others’ expectations over their own, and we compare our model against two alternatives. We also argue that second-order expectations tend to persist across social encounters, even when they are disadvantaging. Results from two experiments confirm the importance of second-order expectations during an initial interaction; however, we find that second-order effects only transfer when they are advantaging. We discuss the implications of our findings for developments within the expectation states theoretical research program and for advancing our understanding of the interplay of status characteristics and competing self motives (consistency vs. enhancement).

Further Data on Misclassification: A Reply to Cheng and Powell

We appreciate Cheng and Powell’s (henceforth C&P) comment on our 2007 article on the effects of racial misclassification, and we are very enthusiastic about the growing field of research, using several different data sources, on the differences between self-identification and the perceptions of others (e.g., Herman 2010; Penner and Saperstein 2008; Roth 2010; Saperstein 2006, 2009; Saperstein and Penner 2010; Stepanikova 2010). C&P focus on a key conundrum facing researchers who wish to use racial and ethnic data from surveys: because racial identification is a reflection of a socially constructed and ongoing life course process, any survey measure is necessarily an imperfect snapshot rather than a flawless measure of a stable individual trait. We completely agree with the idea that this is an issue that all research on race and ethnicity needs to take seriously, and we value the care with which C&P investigated the issue in this particular case. As they point out, inconsistency in survey responses about race is an important window into the complexity of racial and ethnic identification. In our reply, we review the concerns they raise, propose avenues for addressing them, and offer an analysis of data drawn from an alternative survey. This analysis provides further support for our hypothesis that when a respondent believes other people’s expectations conflict with the respondent’s expectations for herself, the conflict generates stress (Moore 1985; Troyer and Younts 1997). CHENG AND POWELL’S CRITIQUE

INFLUENCE OVER OBSERVERS OF STRUCTURAL POWER: An Experimental Investigation

Research in network exchange theory and status characteristics theory that distinguishes power from influence has proven productive, but leaves open the question of whether a causal relationship exists between these two central, sociological concepts. Past research has found that structural power in exchange increases expectations for competent performance of the power user on a subsequent cooperative task. However, once the power advantage has been removed, previous research has failed to find increased influence of power users, perhaps because those subjected to power use react negatively to perceptions of the high-power actor as selfish or greedy. In society, the results of power used on relatively few people can be observed by many who may not react negatively to the power use because they are not directly exploited. Thus we predicted that observers of power processes would form high expectations for the competence of, and be influenced by, power users. An experimental study supported the predictions: A partner who had been in a high-power position had more influence over observers than did a partner who had been in a low-power position. An interaction was found such that the high-power partner had more influence over observers of power in strong-power networks, but not in weak-power networks.

Incorporating theories of group dynamics in group decision support system (GDSS) design

GDSS design can enhance decision-making by managing information exchange patterns (e.g. ideas, facts, questions, evaluations) in groups. Groups cycle through stages involving identifiable information exchange patterns, and the optimal pattern depends on the groups stage. A GDSS that manages information exchange patterns can improve decision quality. Developing such a system requires formally modeling optimal information exchange patterns. This paper presents exemplary models and research identifying key parameters for developing future models. The models indicate the benefits of large-scale collective decisionmaking. The paper discusses the principles, benefits, and challenges of developing such a GDSS that incorporates theories of group dynamics in systems design.

Time dependence in micro social interaction : An elaboration of information exchange theory and initial empirical test

Abstract Many micro sociological theories describe social interaction as a process, implying the importance of time. Yet, time is seriously undertheorized and underanalyzed in micro social interaction. We show that time plays a conceptually relevant role in information exchange theory. According to this theory, when actors contribute some types of information (like ideas) to a group, they are more likely to be negatively evaluated than if they contribute other types (like positive evaluations). Information exchange theory conceptualizes information types that are more prone to be met with negative evaluation as more socially risky than those less prone to negative evaluation, since negative evaluations engender status loss for recipients. The theory posits that actors manage interaction to reduce social risk by avoiding more risky information initiations, especially when conditions are such that the likelihood of negative evaluations occurring in a group is particularly high. We propose that when higher risk information types are dense in the temporal space of interaction, then the likelihood of negative evaluation is higher, exacerbating the risk of these information types (and consequently, the likelihood of their occurrence declines). When lower risk information types are sparse in the temporal space of interaction, the likelihood of their occurrence increases as actors try to reduce the potential for conflict in social interaction. We use event history methods to test these claims on the role of time. Results not only support our contentions regarding the importance of time but also show that it is a crucial regulator of social interaction.