The researchers found that the results supported their hypothesis as individuals who were able to steer topics and bring up points for discussion were signaled as being the leader of the conversation. Talking turns were also shown to be more stressful than speaking turns (especially in low-ranking members) showing physiologically that speech is a stress based mechanism for status allocation amongst humans.
When a group of people form a team, they look for a way to organize themselves. The process, described by Status Characteristics Theory, is a type of status ranking through which team members come to a (generally unspoken) consensus about who has a worthwhile contribution to make.1,2 The process may be conscious, but is often unconscious, and thus occurs whether or not participants are aware it is happening. There is a high degree of similarity in the relative rank that people silently assign to each other. The factors that drive perceived status rankings are also fairly consistent across cultures.3,4,5
The outcome of the ranking process has a profound effect on who wields influence in the group and who does not. The higher the commonly perceived status of a given attendee, the more the group will allow that person to speak. Higher-status members are also addressed more often, are looked at more often, and are less likely to be interrupted.6,7
If a low-status person attempts to speak more than is deemed appropriate for their status, members of the group will perceive that person as having spoken “too much.” This is true even when that person’s total speaking time is far less than that of others present.
When a group of people form a team, they look for a way to organize themselves. The process, described by Status Characteristics Theory, is a type of status ranking through which team members come to a (generally unspoken) consensus about who has a worthwhile contribution to make.1,2 The process may be conscious, but is often unconscious, and thus occurs whether or not participants are aware it is happening. There is a high degree of similarity in the relative rank that people silently assign to each other. The factors that drive perceived status rankings are also fairly consistent across cultures.3,4,5
The outcome of the ranking process has a profound effect on who wields influence in the group and who does not. The higher the commonly perceived status of a given attendee, the more the group will allow that person to speak. Higher-status members are also addressed more often, are looked at more often, and are less likely to be interrupted.6,7
If a low-status person attempts to speak more than is deemed appropriate for their status, members of the group will perceive that person as having spoken “too much.” This is true even when that person’s total speaking time is far less than that of others present.
