Cameron Anderson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3717801 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Cameron Anderson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Cameron |
| FAMILY NAME | Anderson |
| SIGNATURE | ANDERSON C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Berkeley |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1913-7109 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 671 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
Diversity Deflation: The Effect of Hierarchical Representation on Perceived Diversity, Conflict, and Attraction to Work Teams
Prior research finds that hierarchical representation–the vertical distribution of minorities across a hierarchy–can influence team attractiveness. Extending these findings, we offer a novel account for why these perceptions arise: teams with minorities clustered in low-ranking positions are perceived as less diverse and more conflict-prone than equally diverse teams with hierarchical representation. Across five studies (N = 2946), participants p…
The Gender Gap and Academic Publishing in Political Science: Evidence from Canada
The underrepresentation of women-authored scholarship in political science journals remains a persistent issue. Studies confirm that a gender gap exists in many leading American and European journals and that a key contributing factor is the lack of supply from women authors. To what extent is this gap present in the Canadian Journal of Political Science (CJPS), given the Canadian Political Science Association’s efforts to promote gender equality…
Lay theories of place effects
Combining research in political geography and social psychology, this article investigates lay theories of “place effects”—that is, ordinary citizens' beliefs about the effects that urban or rural places have on the individuals who live in them. We do so using a novel survey vignette embedded in a large‐scale survey of the Canadian public. Our results suggest that (1) citizens see rural identities as less malleable than urban identities, (2) lay …
Resentment and Admiration: Public Opinion Toward Teachers and Public Sector Employees in Ontario
Public opinion toward teachers and other public sector workers is an important factor in Ontario provincial politics. This article uses public opinion data to measure, and identify the correlates of, resentment and admiration of these groups, and to identify the relationship between these attitudes and support for political parties in Ontario. Survey data from over 4,000 Ontarians, collected at the time of the 2022 provincial election, show that …
The Possession of High Status Strengthens the Status Motive
The current research tested whether the possession of high status, compared with the possession of low status, makes individuals desire having high status even more. Five studies (total N = 6,426), four of which were preregistered, supported this hypothesis. Individuals with higher status in their social groups or who were randomly assigned to a high-status condition were more motivated to have high status than were individuals with low status. F…
National identity, attentiveness and the two sides of partisanship: The case of the 2015 Canadian federal election
Recent scholarship has shown that the strength of national identity can be affected by election outcomes, and these changes hinge, in part, on partisan identities. Research on partisan identities highlights the behavioural effects of negative partisan attitudes in contrast to the more established positive dimension of partisanship. This study considers the impact of the 2015 Canadian federal election outcome upon national identities. Using data f…
Is overconfidence a social liability? The effect of verbal versus nonverbal expressions of confidence
Advance online publication. October 11, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000150), the Editor' Note acknowledging David Dunning as the action editor for this article was omitted. All versions of this article have been corrected.] What are the reputational consequences of being overconfident? We propose that the channel of confidence expression is one key moderator-that is, whether confidence is expressed verbally or nonverbally. In a series of…
Does loyalty trump honesty? Moral judgments of loyalty-driven deceit
Failure at the top: How power undermines collaborative performance
All too commonly, we see groups of leaders fail to accomplish their stated goals when working together--legislators who cannot agree on a bill, heads of state who cannot draft meaningful environmental policy, or boards of trustees who make disastrous decisions for their school. The current research examines whether groups of leaders fail as often as they do in part because of the power each leader is accustomed to possessing among his or her cons…
The role of physical formidability in human social status allocation
Why are physically formidable men willingly allocated higher social status by others in cooperative groups? Ancestrally, physically formidable males would have been differentially equipped to generate benefits for groups by providing leadership services of within-group enforcement (e.g., implementing punishment of free riders) and between-group representation (e.g., negotiating with other coalitions). Therefore, we hypothesize that adaptations fo…
Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature
The current review evaluates the status hypothesis, which states that that the desire for status is a fundamental motive. Status is defined as the respect, admiration, and voluntary deference individuals are afforded by others. It is distinct from related constructs such as power, financial success, and social belongingness. A review of diverse literatures lent support to the status hypothesis: People's subjective well-being, self-esteem, and men…
The Psychology of Social Status
xii, 365 pages : 24 cm
Perspectives on Power in Organizations
Power is a critical resource for organizational actors. Given the profound importance of power to individual functioning, it is essential to understand how some individuals acquire power when others do not, why some individuals retain their power once they have attained it, and why others fall from their lofty positions in spite of the political advantages power provides. In this review, we conceptualize power as a process that unfolds over time …
The downside of looking like a leader: Power, nonverbal confidence, and participative decision-making
The Local-Ladder Effect: Social Status and Subjective Well-Being
Dozens of studies in different nations have revealed that socioeconomic status only weakly predicts an individual’s subjective well-being (SWB). These results imply that although the pursuit of social status is a fundamental human motivation, achieving high status has little impact on one’s SWB. However, we propose that sociometric status—the respect and admiration one has in face-to-face groups (e.g., among friends or coworkers)—has a stronger e…
The Personal Sense of Power
Scholars who examine the psychological effects of power have often argued that possessing power shapes individual behavior because it instills an elevated sense of power. However, little is known about the personal sense of power because very few studies have examined it empirically. In studies involving a total of 1,141 participants and nine different samples, we found that the personal sense of power was coherent within social contexts; for exa…
A status-enhancement account of overconfidence
In explaining the prevalence of the overconfident belief that one is better than others, prior work has focused on the motive to maintain high self-esteem, abetted by biases in attention, memory, and cognition. An additional possibility is that overconfidence enhances the person's social status. We tested this status-enhancing account of overconfidence in 6 studies. Studies 1-3 found that overconfidence leads to higher social status in both short…
The origins of deference: When do people prefer lower status
Although the desire for high status is considered universal, prior research suggests individuals often opt for lower status positions. Why would anyone favor a position of apparent disadvantage? In 5 studies, we found that the broad construct of status striving can be broken up into two conceptions: one based on rank, the other on respect. While individuals might universally desire high levels of respect, we find that they vary widely in the exte…
Regional Heterogeneity and Policy Preferences in Canada: 1979–2006
The publication of Small Worlds in 1980 constituted a landmark in the study of Canadian politics. This contribution re-assesses the central findings of regional similarity and convergence in opinion preferences on public policy as observed in the original chapter by Richard Simeon and Donald Blake. Using public opinion data from the past 30 years, three central findings emerge: the presence of non-trivial levels of regional variation in public po…
Why are highly informed citizens sceptical of referenda
The Pursuit of Status in Social Groups
Status differences are ubiquitous and highly consequential. Yet with regard to human social groups, basic questions persist about how status differences develop. In particular, little is known about the processes by which individuals pursue status in social groups. That is, how do individuals compete and jockey for status with their peers? The current paper reviews recent research that helps fill this gap in our knowledge. Specifically, studies o…
Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance
Individuals high in the personality trait dominance consistently attain high levels of influence in groups. Why they do is unclear, however, because most group theories assert that people cannot attain influence simply by behaving assertively and forcefully; rather, they need to possess superior task abilities and leadership skills. In the present research, the authors proposed that individuals high in trait dominance attain influence because the…
Are individuals' reputations related to their history of behavior
Functional theories of reputation imply that individuals' reputations are tied to their history of behavior. However, indirect evidence suggests that the relation between reputation and behavior might be tenuous at best. In 3 studies, the authors tracked the development of reputations among individuals who engaged in multiple negotiation tasks across several weeks. The authors found that on average, individuals' reputations were only mildly relat…
The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism
Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups
Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damag…
Power, optimism, and risk-taking
Five studies investigated the hypotheses that the sense of power increases optimism in perceiving risks and leads to more risky behavior. In Studies 1 and 2, individuals with a higher generalized sense of power and those primed with a high-power mind-set were more optimistic in their perceptions of risk. Study 3 primed the concept of power nonconsciously and found that both power and gain/loss frame had independent effects on risk preferences. In…
The experience of power: Examining the effects of power on approach and inhibition tendencies
Two studies of task-focused dyads tested the approach/inhibition theory of power (D. Keltner, D. H. Gruenfeld, & C. Anderson, in press), which posits that having power increases the tendency to approach and decreases the tendency to inhibit. Results provided preliminary support for the theory: Participants higher in personality dominance or assigned control over resources expressed their true attitudes, experienced more positive and less negative…
Emotional convergence between people over time
The authors propose that people in relationships become emotionally similar over time--as this similarity would help coordinate the thoughts and behaviors of the relationship partners, increase their mutual understanding, and foster their social cohesion. Using laboratory procedures to induce and assess emotional response, the authors found that dating partners (Study 1) and college roommates (Studies 2 and 3) became more similar in their emotion…
Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups
The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism
Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups
Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damag…
Why are highly informed citizens sceptical of referenda
A status-enhancement account of overconfidence
In explaining the prevalence of the overconfident belief that one is better than others, prior work has focused on the motive to maintain high self-esteem, abetted by biases in attention, memory, and cognition. An additional possibility is that overconfidence enhances the person's social status. We tested this status-enhancing account of overconfidence in 6 studies. Studies 1-3 found that overconfidence leads to higher social status in both short…
Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance
Individuals high in the personality trait dominance consistently attain high levels of influence in groups. Why they do is unclear, however, because most group theories assert that people cannot attain influence simply by behaving assertively and forcefully; rather, they need to possess superior task abilities and leadership skills. In the present research, the authors proposed that individuals high in trait dominance attain influence because the…
The origins of deference: When do people prefer lower status
Although the desire for high status is considered universal, prior research suggests individuals often opt for lower status positions. Why would anyone favor a position of apparent disadvantage? In 5 studies, we found that the broad construct of status striving can be broken up into two conceptions: one based on rank, the other on respect. While individuals might universally desire high levels of respect, we find that they vary widely in the exte…
The role of physical formidability in human social status allocation
Why are physically formidable men willingly allocated higher social status by others in cooperative groups? Ancestrally, physically formidable males would have been differentially equipped to generate benefits for groups by providing leadership services of within-group enforcement (e.g., implementing punishment of free riders) and between-group representation (e.g., negotiating with other coalitions). Therefore, we hypothesize that adaptations fo…
Regional Heterogeneity and Policy Preferences in Canada: 1979–2006
The publication of Small Worlds in 1980 constituted a landmark in the study of Canadian politics. This contribution re-assesses the central findings of regional similarity and convergence in opinion preferences on public policy as observed in the original chapter by Richard Simeon and Donald Blake. Using public opinion data from the past 30 years, three central findings emerge: the presence of non-trivial levels of regional variation in public po…
Does loyalty trump honesty? Moral judgments of loyalty-driven deceit
Are individuals' reputations related to their history of behavior
Functional theories of reputation imply that individuals' reputations are tied to their history of behavior. However, indirect evidence suggests that the relation between reputation and behavior might be tenuous at best. In 3 studies, the authors tracked the development of reputations among individuals who engaged in multiple negotiation tasks across several weeks. The authors found that on average, individuals' reputations were only mildly relat…
When the face reveals what words do not: Facial expressions of emotion, smiling, and the willingness to disclose childhood sexual abuse
For survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), verbal disclosure is often complex and painful. The authors examined the voluntary disclosure-nondisclosure of CSA in relation to nonverbal expressions of emotion in the face. Consistent with hypotheses derived from recent theorizing about the moral nature of emotion, CSA survivors who did not voluntarily disclose CSA showed greater facial expressions of shame, whereas CSA survivors who voluntarily d…
Is overconfidence a social liability? The effect of verbal versus nonverbal expressions of confidence
Advance online publication. October 11, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000150), the Editor' Note acknowledging David Dunning as the action editor for this article was omitted. All versions of this article have been corrected.] What are the reputational consequences of being overconfident? We propose that the channel of confidence expression is one key moderator-that is, whether confidence is expressed verbally or nonverbally. In a series of…
Failure at the top: How power undermines collaborative performance
All too commonly, we see groups of leaders fail to accomplish their stated goals when working together--legislators who cannot agree on a bill, heads of state who cannot draft meaningful environmental policy, or boards of trustees who make disastrous decisions for their school. The current research examines whether groups of leaders fail as often as they do in part because of the power each leader is accustomed to possessing among his or her cons…
Lay theories of place effects
Combining research in political geography and social psychology, this article investigates lay theories of “place effects”—that is, ordinary citizens' beliefs about the effects that urban or rural places have on the individuals who live in them. We do so using a novel survey vignette embedded in a large‐scale survey of the Canadian public. Our results suggest that (1) citizens see rural identities as less malleable than urban identities, (2) lay …
The downside of looking like a leader: Power, nonverbal confidence, and participative decision-making
National identity, attentiveness and the two sides of partisanship: The case of the 2015 Canadian federal election
Recent scholarship has shown that the strength of national identity can be affected by election outcomes, and these changes hinge, in part, on partisan identities. Research on partisan identities highlights the behavioural effects of negative partisan attitudes in contrast to the more established positive dimension of partisanship. This study considers the impact of the 2015 Canadian federal election outcome upon national identities. Using data f…
Young children who drown in hot tubs, spas, and whirlpools in California: A 26-year survey
A survey of drownings in hot tubs, spas, and whirlpools in California 1960-85 suggests a person- and site-specific profile. The identified 74 deaths occurred mostly in White children, under two years of age, in Southern California, during the late afternoons, from May through August. From 1967 to 1985, the drowning rate increased tenfold. The deaths were associated with access to the water, lack of supervision, neuromotor handicaps, and entrapmen…
Young children who drown in hot tubs, spas, and whirlpools in California: A 26-year survey
A survey of drownings in hot tubs, spas, and whirlpools in California 1960-85 suggests a person- and site-specific profile. The identified 74 deaths occurred mostly in White children, under two years of age, in Southern California, during the late afternoons, from May through August. From 1967 to 1985, the drowning rate increased tenfold. The deaths were associated with access to the water, lack of supervision, neuromotor handicaps, and entrapmen…
Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups
When the face reveals what words do not: Facial expressions of emotion, smiling, and the willingness to disclose childhood sexual abuse
For survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), verbal disclosure is often complex and painful. The authors examined the voluntary disclosure-nondisclosure of CSA in relation to nonverbal expressions of emotion in the face. Consistent with hypotheses derived from recent theorizing about the moral nature of emotion, CSA survivors who did not voluntarily disclose CSA showed greater facial expressions of shame, whereas CSA survivors who voluntarily d…
The experience of power: Examining the effects of power on approach and inhibition tendencies
Two studies of task-focused dyads tested the approach/inhibition theory of power (D. Keltner, D. H. Gruenfeld, & C. Anderson, in press), which posits that having power increases the tendency to approach and decreases the tendency to inhibit. Results provided preliminary support for the theory: Participants higher in personality dominance or assigned control over resources expressed their true attitudes, experienced more positive and less negative…
Power, approach, and inhibition.
This article examines how power influences behavior. Elevated power is associated with increased rewards and freedom and thereby activates approach-related tendencies. Reduced power is associated with increased threat, punishment, and social constraint and thereby activates inhibition-related tendencies. The authors derive predictions from recent theorizing about approach and inhibition and review relevant evidence. Specifically, power is associa…
Emotional convergence between people over time
The authors propose that people in relationships become emotionally similar over time--as this similarity would help coordinate the thoughts and behaviors of the relationship partners, increase their mutual understanding, and foster their social cohesion. Using laboratory procedures to induce and assess emotional response, the authors found that dating partners (Study 1) and college roommates (Studies 2 and 3) became more similar in their emotion…
The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism
Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups
Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damag…
Power, optimism, and risk-taking
Five studies investigated the hypotheses that the sense of power increases optimism in perceiving risks and leads to more risky behavior. In Studies 1 and 2, individuals with a higher generalized sense of power and those primed with a high-power mind-set were more optimistic in their perceptions of risk. Study 3 primed the concept of power nonconsciously and found that both power and gain/loss frame had independent effects on risk preferences. In…
Are individuals' reputations related to their history of behavior
Functional theories of reputation imply that individuals' reputations are tied to their history of behavior. However, indirect evidence suggests that the relation between reputation and behavior might be tenuous at best. In 3 studies, the authors tracked the development of reputations among individuals who engaged in multiple negotiation tasks across several weeks. The authors found that on average, individuals' reputations were only mildly relat…
The Pursuit of Status in Social Groups
Status differences are ubiquitous and highly consequential. Yet with regard to human social groups, basic questions persist about how status differences develop. In particular, little is known about the processes by which individuals pursue status in social groups. That is, how do individuals compete and jockey for status with their peers? The current paper reviews recent research that helps fill this gap in our knowledge. Specifically, studies o…
Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance
Individuals high in the personality trait dominance consistently attain high levels of influence in groups. Why they do is unclear, however, because most group theories assert that people cannot attain influence simply by behaving assertively and forcefully; rather, they need to possess superior task abilities and leadership skills. In the present research, the authors proposed that individuals high in trait dominance attain influence because the…
Regional Heterogeneity and Policy Preferences in Canada: 1979–2006
The publication of Small Worlds in 1980 constituted a landmark in the study of Canadian politics. This contribution re-assesses the central findings of regional similarity and convergence in opinion preferences on public policy as observed in the original chapter by Richard Simeon and Donald Blake. Using public opinion data from the past 30 years, three central findings emerge: the presence of non-trivial levels of regional variation in public po…
Why are highly informed citizens sceptical of referenda
The Local-Ladder Effect: Social Status and Subjective Well-Being
Dozens of studies in different nations have revealed that socioeconomic status only weakly predicts an individual’s subjective well-being (SWB). These results imply that although the pursuit of social status is a fundamental human motivation, achieving high status has little impact on one’s SWB. However, we propose that sociometric status—the respect and admiration one has in face-to-face groups (e.g., among friends or coworkers)—has a stronger e…
The Personal Sense of Power
Scholars who examine the psychological effects of power have often argued that possessing power shapes individual behavior because it instills an elevated sense of power. However, little is known about the personal sense of power because very few studies have examined it empirically. In studies involving a total of 1,141 participants and nine different samples, we found that the personal sense of power was coherent within social contexts; for exa…
A status-enhancement account of overconfidence
In explaining the prevalence of the overconfident belief that one is better than others, prior work has focused on the motive to maintain high self-esteem, abetted by biases in attention, memory, and cognition. An additional possibility is that overconfidence enhances the person's social status. We tested this status-enhancing account of overconfidence in 6 studies. Studies 1-3 found that overconfidence leads to higher social status in both short…
The origins of deference: When do people prefer lower status
Although the desire for high status is considered universal, prior research suggests individuals often opt for lower status positions. Why would anyone favor a position of apparent disadvantage? In 5 studies, we found that the broad construct of status striving can be broken up into two conceptions: one based on rank, the other on respect. While individuals might universally desire high levels of respect, we find that they vary widely in the exte…
The Psychology of Social Status
xii, 365 pages : 24 cm
Perspectives on Power in Organizations
Power is a critical resource for organizational actors. Given the profound importance of power to individual functioning, it is essential to understand how some individuals acquire power when others do not, why some individuals retain their power once they have attained it, and why others fall from their lofty positions in spite of the political advantages power provides. In this review, we conceptualize power as a process that unfolds over time …
The downside of looking like a leader: Power, nonverbal confidence, and participative decision-making
Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature
The current review evaluates the status hypothesis, which states that that the desire for status is a fundamental motive. Status is defined as the respect, admiration, and voluntary deference individuals are afforded by others. It is distinct from related constructs such as power, financial success, and social belongingness. A review of diverse literatures lent support to the status hypothesis: People's subjective well-being, self-esteem, and men…
Failure at the top: How power undermines collaborative performance
All too commonly, we see groups of leaders fail to accomplish their stated goals when working together--legislators who cannot agree on a bill, heads of state who cannot draft meaningful environmental policy, or boards of trustees who make disastrous decisions for their school. The current research examines whether groups of leaders fail as often as they do in part because of the power each leader is accustomed to possessing among his or her cons…
The role of physical formidability in human social status allocation
Why are physically formidable men willingly allocated higher social status by others in cooperative groups? Ancestrally, physically formidable males would have been differentially equipped to generate benefits for groups by providing leadership services of within-group enforcement (e.g., implementing punishment of free riders) and between-group representation (e.g., negotiating with other coalitions). Therefore, we hypothesize that adaptations fo…
Does loyalty trump honesty? Moral judgments of loyalty-driven deceit
Psychology (28 works) · Social Psychology (28 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (21 works) · Political science (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Developmental psychology (12 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (11 works) · Politics (8 works) · Social status (8 works) · Law (7 works)