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Assessing the Impact of Status Information Conveyance on the Distribution of Negative Rewards: A Preliminary Test and Model

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Abstract

Purpose To determine the role of status information conveyance in a negative reward allocation setting. Methodology Using previously published experimental data, we test the relative effects of status information conveyed by expressive and indicative status cues on the allocation of a negative reward. Further, we construct an alternative graph theoretic model of expectation advantage which is also tested to determine its model fit relative to the classic model of Reward Expectations Theory. Findings Results provide strong support for the conclusion that status information conveyed by expressive status cues influences reward allocations more than information conveyed by indicative cues. We also find evidence that our alternative graph theoretic model of expectation advantage improves model fit. Originality This research is the first to test the relative impact of expressive versus indicative status cues on the allocation of negative rewards and shows that status characteristics can have differential impacts on these allocations contingent on how characteristics are conveyed. Furthermore, the research suggests a graph theoretic model that allows for this differentiation based on information conveyance and provides empirical support for its structure in a negative reward allocation environment. Research limitations Future research is required to validate the results in positive reward situations. Social implications The results show that an individual’s expectations are altered by varying the manner in which status information is presented, thereby influencing the construction and maintenance of status hierarchies and the inequalities those structures generate. Thus, this research has implications for any group or evaluative task where status processes are relevant.

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... Termed "status characteristics," these social markers signal high or low status states. Individuals occupying the high status states of these characteristics are believed to be more deserving of rewards and, consequently, less deserving of punishments (Melamed 2012;Dilks, McGrimmon, and Thye 2017). Thus, fraud victim organizations may be less likely to pursue harsher punishment outcomes against high status fraudsters. ...
... Goal objects are instances of tangible or symbolic rewards to be allocated (Berger et al. 1992;Berger and Zelditch 1998;Hysom and Fişek 2011). In this setting, the goal object is the punishment chosen by the victim organization (see Dilks et al. (2017) for a similar operationalization of goal objects). Paths are characterized by both sign and length. ...
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In the past, sociologists have proposed that men and women approach situations in which they have to work with other people differently; that men are "task" or "instrumental" specialists, while women are "social" or "expressive" specialists. Subsequent advances in research on the social psychology of small groups, on families, and on personality has largely removed the theoretical and empirical supports for this proposition. On the other hand, researchers continue to observe sex differences in behavior in a variety of task-oriented situations. This paper suggests that sex roles may be seen as the result of status processes. Since men have higher status than women, men are expected to be more competent than women and it is expected that competitive or dominating behavior is legitimate for men but not for women. Empirical studies of sex roles as related to task appropriateness, group problem solving, conflict, dominating behavior and role expectations are reviewed in support of this theory.
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The primary aim of the paper is to place current methodological discussions in macroeconometric modeling contrasting the ‘theory first’ versus the ‘data first’ perspectives in the context of a broader methodological framework with a view to constructively appraise them. In particular, the paper focuses on Colander’s argument in his paper “Economists, Incentives, Judgement, and the European CVAR Approach to Macroeconometrics” contrasting two different perspectives in Europe and the US that are currently dominating empirical macroeconometric modeling and delves deeper into their methodological/philosophical underpinnings. It is argued that the key to establishing a constructive dialogue between them is provided by a better understanding of the role of data in modern statistical inference, and how that relates to the centuries old issue of the realisticness of economic theories.
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The primary aim of the paper is to place current methodological discussions in macroeconometric modeling contrasting the ‘theory first’ versus the ‘data first’ perspectives in the context of a broader methodological framework with a view to constructively appraise them. In particular, the paper focuses on Colander’s argument in his paper “Economists, Incentives, Judgement, and the European CVAR Approach to Macroeconometrics” contrasting two different perspectives in Europe and the US that are currently dominating empirical macroeconometric modeling and delves deeper into their methodological/philosophical underpinnings. It is argued that the key to establishing a constructive dialogue between them is provided by a better understanding of the role of data in modern statistical inference, and how that relates to the centuries old issue of the realisticness of economic theories.