Cross-Cultural Comparison of Status Effects on Group Decision Making

Abstract

The purpose of this study was a comparison of influence of formal status on group decision making for two cultures, the United States and India. Two identical experiments were conducted on American and Indian subjects. In both samples 36 male and female students, 12 graduate MBA and 24 freshmen or sophomores were randomly assigned to 12 groups of three in such a way that each group comprised of one graduate and two undergraduate members. Graduate students and undergraduates respectively represented high and low “specific” statuses, while male and female students respectively represented high and low “diffuse” statuses. Prior to group discussions, the participants introduced themselves to the group by stating, among other things, their academic status. Two standard “choice-dilemma” problems were discussed by each group with the order of the problems randomly counterbalanced. The experimental procedure followed the “risky shift” paradigm. Analysis of variance revealed that educational status had significant effects for both samples: graduate students “complied” and were persuaded less and were perceived as more competent-influential than undergraduates. However, there was a substantial difference between the Indian and the U.S. samples in the status effects of gender: gender had significant main status effects on “compliance”, persuasion, and perceived competence-influence only for the Indian sample. These findings are consistent with our understanding of relatively more status-conscious and male-dominated society in India than in USA.