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

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