Prestige and dominance as assessed by friends, strangers, and the self

Abstract

Previous research has distinguished prestigious and dominant facets of social status. Dominance is related to negative traits (e.g., hubristic pride), while prestige is related to positive traits (e.g., authentic pride). This study examined how dominance and prestige were perceived by self and others (friends/colleagues and strangers). 49 groups of friends/colleagues (n = 200, age from 18 to 69 [M = 31.13, SD = 6.78]) were asked to self-rate and rate their friends in terms of levels of dominance and prestige. In addition, the participants' WeChat profiles were rated by 20 strangers. Analyses focused on the agreement between these ratings of different sources as well as these ratings' associations with the participants' social status (i.e., leadership positions in organizations). Results revealed higher self-peer agreement than self-stranger agreement and/or peer-stranger agreement on prestige and dominance subscales. More importantly, consistent with the Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) Model, self- and peer-ratings of prestige and dominance were significantly and uniquely associated with social status.