AGREEMENT AS A FUNCTION OF INITIAL CHOICE AND STAY RESPONSE PROBABILITIES IN STATUS CHARACTERISTICS RESEARCH

Expectation states theories of status processes have consistently show n that participation and influence patterns in groups are a function o f differences in external status characteristics. A branch of this the oretical research program, Status Characteristics Theory (SCT) deals s pecifically with the processes by which external status characteristic s come to determine the allocation of status positions within groups. The authors pose three arguments relevant to this program. First, agre ement on the final choice is a much more likely outcome than disagreem ent in situations that meet most of the conditions of the standardized experimental setting, even when the probability of staying with one's own answer given disagreement is high for group members. Second agree ment is yet more likely to be the final outcome in groups that are dif ferentiated on some status characteristic that leads to differential l ikelihood of staying with one's own initial choice. Third, cooperative allocation of status position is more likely to occur in these groups than competitive position allocation.