Construction of Status and Referential Structures

@article{citeulike:1775421, abstract = {Beliefs about diverse status characteristics have a common core content of performance capacities and qualities made up of two features: hierarchy (superior/inferior capacities) and role-differentiation (instrumental/expressive qualities). Whatever the status characteristic, its more-valued state tends to be defined as superior and instrumental, and the less-valued state tends to be defined as inferior but expressive. We account for this in terms of the typification of differences in behavioral inequalities and profiles that emerge in task oriented social interaction. Status construction theory argues that new configurations of the states of a nonvalued discriminating characteristic, status values, and status typifications of actors possessing these states arise from a similar process. The theory we present here makes new predictions on the construction and institutionalization of status characteristics and generalized beliefs about the relation of status characteristics to social rewards, called referential structures. This theory, we argue, integrates micro and macro elements in a way that may be applicable to explaining the social construction of cultural objects more generally.}, author = {Berger, Joseph and Ridgeway, Cecilia L. and Zelditch, Morris }, citeulike-article-id = {1775421}, journal = {Sociological Theory}, keywords = {dominance, humans}, number = {2}, pages = {157--179}, posted-at = {2007-10-16 17:39:19}, priority = {2}, title = {Construction of Status and Referential Structures}, url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/3108644}, volume = {20}, year = {2002} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1775421 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1775421 TI - Construction of Status and Referential Structures JF - Sociological Theory VL - 20 IS - 2 SP - 157 EP - 179 N2 - Beliefs about diverse status characteristics have a common core content of performance capacities and qualities made up of two features: hierarchy (superior/inferior capacities) and role-differentiation (instrumental/expressive qualities). Whatever the status characteristic, its more-valued state tends to be defined as superior and instrumental, and the less-valued state tends to be defined as inferior but expressive. We account for this in terms of the typification of differences in behavioral inequalities and profiles that emerge in task oriented social interaction. Status construction theory argues that new configurations of the states of a nonvalued discriminating characteristic, status values, and status typifications of actors possessing these states arise from a similar process. The theory we present here makes new predictions on the construction and institutionalization of status characteristics and generalized beliefs about the relation of status characteristics to social rewards, called referential structures. This theory, we argue, integrates micro and macro elements in a way that may be applicable to explaining the social construction of cultural objects more generally. KW - dominance KW - humans AU - Berger, Joseph AU - Ridgeway, Cecilia AU - Zelditch, Morris PY - 2002/// UR - http://www.jstor.org/stable/3108644 ER -