Abstract
Two experiments examined the psychological and biological antecedents of hierarchical differentiation and the resulting consequences for productivity and conflict within small groups. In Experiment 1, which used a priming manipulation, hierarchically differentiated groups (i.e., groups comprising 1 high-power-primed, 1 low-power-primed, and 1 baseline individual) performed better on a procedurally interdependent task than did groups comprising exclusively either all high-power-primed or all low-power-primed individuals. There were no effects of hierarchical differentiation on performance on a procedurally independent task. Experiment 2 used a biological marker of dominance motivation (prenatal testosterone exposure as measured by a digit-length ratio) to manipulate hierarchical differentiation. The pattern of results from Experiment 1 was replicated; mixed-testosterone groups achieved greater productivity than did groups comprising all high-testosterone or all low-testosterone individuals. Furthermore, intragroup conflict mediated the productivity decrements for the high-testosterone but not the low-testosterone groups. This research suggests possible directions for future research and the need to further delineate the conditions and types of hierarchy under which hierarchical differentiation enhances rather than undermines group effectiveness.
References
Section:
| Anderson C., Kilduff G. J. (2009). Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 491–503. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Baron J. N., Pfeffer J. (1994). The social psychology of organizations and inequality. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57, 190–209. , Google Scholar | |
| Beehner J. C., Bergman T. J., Cheney D. L., Seyfarth R. M., Whitten P. L. (2006). Testosterone predicts future dominance rank and mating activity among male chacma baboons. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 59, 469–479. , Google Scholar | |
| Bellamy E. (1888). Looking backward, 2000-1887. Boston, MA: Ticknor and Co. , Google Scholar | |
| Bendersky C., Hays N. A. (2012). Status conflict in groups. Organization Science, 23, 323–340. , Google Scholar | |
| Bloom M. (1999). The performance effects of pay dispersion on individuals and organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 25–40. , Google Scholar | |
| Carney D. R., Cuddy A. J. C., Yap A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21, 1363–1368. , Google Scholar Abstract | |
| Cheng J. T., Tracy J. L., Henrich J. (2010). Pride, personality, and the evolutionary foundations of human social status. Evolution & Human Behavior, 31, 334–347. , Google Scholar | |
| Crown D. F. (2007). Effects of structurally competitive multilevel goals for an interdependent task. Small Group Research, 38, 265–288. , Google Scholar Abstract | |
| Fiske S. T. (2010). Interpersonal stratification: Status, power, and subordination. In Fiske S. T., Gilbert D. T., Lindzey G. (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., pp. 941–982). New York, NY: Wiley. , Google Scholar | |
| Galinsky A. D., Gruenfeld D. H., Magee J. C. (2003). From power to action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 453–466. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Groysberg B., Polzer J., Elfenbein H. (in press). Too many cooks spoil the broth: How high status individuals decrease group effectiveness. Organization Science. , Google Scholar | |
| Gruenfeld D. H., Tiedens L. Z. (2010). Organizational preferences and their consequences. In Fiske S. T., Gilbert D. T., Lindzey G. (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., pp. 1252–1287). New York, NY: Wiley. , Google Scholar | |
| Halevy N., Chou E. Y., Galinsky A. D. (2011). A functional model of hierarchy: Why, how, and when vertical differentiation enhances group performance. Organizational Psychology Review, 1, 32–52. , Google Scholar Abstract | |
| Halevy N., Chou E. Y., Galinsky A. D., Murnighan K. (in press). When hierarchy wins: Evidence from the National Basketball Association. Social Psychological & Personality Science. , Google Scholar | |
| Hancock J., Gwinnett B., Hall L., Walton G., Hooper W., Hewes J., . . . Thornton M. (1776). The United States Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ , Google Scholar | |
| Henrich J., Gil-White F. J. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution & Human Behavior, 22, 165–196. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Josephs R. A., Sellers J. G., Newman M. L., Mehta P. H. (2006). The mismatch effect: When testosterone and status are at odds. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 999–1013. , Google Scholar | |
| Leavitt H. J. (2005). Top down: Why hierarchies are here to stay and how to manage them more effectively. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. , Google Scholar | |
| Magee J. C., Galinsky A. D. (2008). Social hierarchy: The self-reinforcing nature of power and status. Academy of Management Annals, 2, 351–398. , Google Scholar | |
| Manning J. T. (2002). Digit ratio: A pointer to fertility, behavior, and health. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. , Google Scholar | |
| Markman K. D., Lindberg M. J., Kray L. J., Galinsky A. D. (2007). Implications of counterfactual structure for creative generation and analytical problem-solving. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 312–324. , Google Scholar Abstract | |
| Marx K., Engels F. (1948). The Communist manifesto. New York, NY: International. (Original work published 1848) , Google Scholar | |
| Mazur A., Booth A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Brain & Behavioral Sciences, 21, 353–397. , Google Scholar | |
| Millet K. (2011). An interactionist perspective on the relation between 2D:4D and behavior: An overview of (moderated) relationships between 2D:4D and economic decision making. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 397–401. , Google Scholar | |
| Millet K., Dewitte S. (2008). A subordinate status position increases the present value of financial resources for low 2D:4D men. American Journal of Human Biology, 20, 110–115. , Google Scholar | |
| Millet K., Dewitte S. (2009). The presence of aggression cues inverts the relation between digit ratio (2D:4D) and pro-social behaviour in a dictator game. British Journal of Psychology, 100, 151−162. , Google Scholar | |
| Muir W. M. (1996). Group selection for adaptation to multiple-hen cages: Selection program and direct responses. Poultry Science, 75, 447–458. , Google Scholar | |
| Preacher K. J., Hayes A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 717–731. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Preacher K. J., Rucker D. D., Hayes A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42, 185– 227. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Ronay R., Galinsky A. D. (2011). Lex talionis: Testosterone and the law of retaliation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 702–705. , Google Scholar | |
| Rucker D. D., Galinsky A. D. (2008). Desire to acquire: Powerlessness and compensatory consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 257–267. , Google Scholar | |
| Ruiz-de-la-Torre J., Manteca X. (1999). Effects of testosterone on aggressive behavior after social mixing in male lambs. Physiology & Behavior, 68, 109–113. , Google Scholar | |
| Schultheiss O. C., Dargel A., Rohde W. (2003). Implicit motives and gonadal steroid hormones: Effects of menstrual cycle phase, oral contraceptive use, and relationship status. Hormones and Behavior, 43, 293–301. , Google Scholar | |
| van Honk J., Tuiten A., Hermans E., Putman P., Koppeschaar H., Thijssen J., . . . van Doornen L. (2001). A single administration of testosterone induces cardiac accelerative responses to angry faces in healthy young women. Behavioral Neuroscience, 115, 238–242. , Google Scholar | |
| van Honk J., Tuiten A., Verbaten R., van den Hout M., Koppeschaar H., Thijssen J., de Haan E. (1999). Correlations among salivary testosterone, mood, and selective attention to threat in humans. Hormones and Behavior, 36, 17–24. , Google Scholar | |
| Van Vugt M. (2006). Evolutionary origins of leadership and followership. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 354–372. , Google Scholar Abstract | |
| Van Vugt M., Hogan R., Kaiser R. B. (2008). Leadership, followership, and evolution: Some lessons from the past. American Psychologist, 63, 182–196. , Google Scholar Medline | |
| Wade J. B., O’Reilly C. A. I., Pollock T. G. (2006). Overpaid CEOs and underpaid managers: Fairness and executive compensation. Organization Science, 17, 527–544. , Google Scholar | |
| Woolley A. W., Chabris C. F., Pentland A., Hashmi N., Malone T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330, 686–688. , Google Scholar |
