• For cooperative teams, modesty leaves th

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thursday, April 21, 2022 22:30:48
    For cooperative teams, modesty leaves the best impression
    People who signal status appear self-interested

    Date:
    April 21, 2022
    Source:
    American Psychological Association
    Summary:
    People may forgo displaying luxury brands and other signals
    of status when they want to convince others that they will
    collaborate well with a team, as people who signal their wealth
    and social status could be perceived as uncooperative, according
    to new research.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== People may forgo displaying luxury brands and other signals of status
    when they want to convince others that they will collaborate well with
    a team, as people who signal their wealth and social status could be
    perceived as uncooperative, according to research published by the
    American Psychological Association.


    ========================================================================== While studies have shown that people who appear to be well-off tend to
    be considered more intelligent, disciplined and competent than those
    who do not, research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people believe someone who shows off their social
    status cares more about their own self-interest than helping others and
    are less willing to collaborate with them.

    "It is generally assumed that signaling status can strategically
    benefit people who want to appear high class -- why else would people
    pay a premium for products with luxury logos that have no other
    functional benefits? But it can also backfire by making them seem more self-interested," said lead researcher Shalena Srna, PhD, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan's Ross School of
    Business. "In social situations that depend on cooperation, people
    will often choose to present themselves more modestly." Across six experiments, researchers recruited more than 2,800 participants online
    and from university behavioral labs in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. to measure how people respond to others who signal status and to examine
    the choices people make about whether to signal status or not.

    In one experiment, 395 online participants were told to evaluate social
    media profiles to find cooperative, selfless and generous people to join
    their community. Participants were then randomly assigned to view either
    a modest social media profile with neutral posts (e.g., "I saw the cutest
    puppy today! #goldenretrievers") or a profile that aimed to signal high
    social status. The status signaling profile contained the same neutral
    language as the first, but it also included posts about luxury cars,
    clothing, food or travel (e.g., "Heading to Madrid! #firstclass #luxury").

    The researchers found that participants who viewed the social media
    profile with status signaling posts were less likely to recommend that
    person to be a part of their group than participants who saw the neutral profile. They also rated the profiled person as wealthier, more concerned
    with their status and less likely to care about others.

    In another experiment, 1,345 participants from behavioral labs at
    three U.S.

    universities were asked to imagine they were creating their own social
    media profile and that they needed to choose what to wear for their
    profile picture.

    The participants were told that they were trying to be selected for
    an online group, but only half of the participants were told that
    the group they were hoping to join was looking for someone extremely cooperative. They were then given the choice of appearing in luxury
    brand clothing such as Prada or Gucci, non-luxury brand clothing such
    as Sketchers or Old Navy, or unbranded clothing.

    Participants who were trying to appear like a cooperative team player
    were much less likely to choose to wear luxury clothes in their profile
    picture than the ones who were not. But people were equally likely to
    choose to wear a non- luxury brand whether cooperation was emphasized
    or not, the researchers found.

    "This experiment shows that people are attuned to when the value of luxury logos switches from positive to negative," according to Srna. "Not only
    are people strategic about when to signal status, they are also strategic
    about modesty." Modesty may be key when cooperation is essential,
    according to Srna, but the researchers also found that in some cases
    status signaling has advantages.

    While participants were less likely to choose someone who signals their
    wealth or status to join a group seeking cooperative members, they were
    more likely to choose that person when they were told the group was
    looking for a competitive team member.

    These findings suggest that people will change how they present themselves depending on their social goal. This is especially important to consider
    in the era of social media, when people can easily share their wealth
    and status to large audiences.

    "Posting about your luxury purchases and expensive vacations on Instagram
    or TikTok may help you to persuade others, intimidate competitors and
    succeed on the dating market -- at least for men -- but it could also
    signal to potential friends or future employers that you are unlikely
    to think about the needs of others," Srna said. "This becomes a tricky balancing act for people who may want to impress others while also demonstrating that they can be a 'team player.'"

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
    American_Psychological_Association. Note: Content may be edited for
    style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Shalena Srna, Alixandra Barasch, Deborah A. Small. On the value of
    modesty: How signals of status undermine cooperation.. Journal of
    Personality and Social Psychology, 2022; DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000303 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220421094043.htm

    --- up 7 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)