Squeezed in the middle
The middle status trade creativity for focus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6203682 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michelle M Duguid (Washington University in St. Louis), Jack A Goncalo (0000-0003-1823-7084, Cornell University) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 589-603 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0039569 |
| PMID | 26302435 |
| OpenAlex | W1738885659 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 64 |
Classical research on social influence suggested that people are the most conforming in the middle of a status hierarchy as opposed to the top or bottom. Yet this promising line of research was abandoned before the psychological mechanism behind middle-status conformity had been identified. Moving beyond the early focus on conformity, we propose that the threat of status loss may make those with middle status more wary of advancing creative solutions in fear that they will be evaluated negatively. Using different manipulations of status and measures of creativity, we found that when being evaluated, middle-status individuals were less creative than either high-status or low-status individuals (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, we found that anxiety at the prospect of status loss also caused individuals with middle status to narrow their focus of attention and to think more convergently (Study 3). We delineate the consequences of power and status both theoretically and empirically by showing that, unlike status, the relationship between power and creativity is positive and linear (Study 4). By both measuring status (Studies 2 and 3) and by manipulating it directly (Study 5), we demonstrate that the threat of status loss explains the consequences of middle status. Finally, we discuss the theoretical implications of our results for future research on status and problem solving on tasks that require either focus or flexibility
Conformity · Creativity · Developmental psychology · Social science · Social status · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Personality Traits and Psychology · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
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Spanish version of the Status Anxiety Scale ( Versión española de la Escala de Ansiedad por el Estatus )
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The Relationship Between Status Anxiety and Loneliness With Well-Being in a Neoliberal Society
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Impact of social class on green consumption in intertemporal social decision-making
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A fluctuating sense of power is associated with reduced well-being
Low power warm-up effect
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Darwin, Sex, and Status
Interpersonal Stratification
The Social Psychology of Creativity
The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior.
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Structured Imagination
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Forest before trees
The Local-Ladder Effect
The Bias Against Creativity
Nice Guys Finish First
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Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning
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Power reduces the press of the situation
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The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
Power-Dependence Relations
The Tradeoffs of Social Control and Innovation in Groups and Organizations
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The evolution of prestige
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When Prejudice Does Not Pay
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Beyond Baron and Kenny
Social categorization and power differentials in group relations
Automatic effects of deviancy cues on creative cognition
Creating the Perceptions of Consistency and Confidence
Effects of Motivational Cues on Perceptual Asymmetry
Cutting stress off at the pass
Priming a New Identity
Intergroup Perception in the Social Context
Holding your place
Recognizing creative leadership
The power to be me
Protecting the self through consumption
The totalitarian ego
Pooling of unshared information in group decision making
Social Theory and Social Structure
Differentiating the effects of status and power
Knowing your place
Satiated with belongingness? Effects of acceptance, rejection, and task framing on self-regulatory performance
Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance
Why do interracial interactions impair executive function? A resource depletion account
Effects of the legitimacy of low group or individual status on individual and collective status-enhancement strategies
The role of social anxiousness in group brainstorming
Productivity loss in brainstorming groups
From Power to Action
Conflict's consequences
Homophily in Voluntary Organizations
Effects of different conditions of acceptance upon conformity to group norms
An Experiment on Conformity to Group Norms Where Conformity is Detrimental to Group Achievement
Competence and conformity in the acceptance of influence
Illusion and well-being
Status Organizing Processes
Middle-Status Conformity
A Status-Based Model of Market Competition
Types of Power and Status
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,44 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |