Models of Participation in Status-Differentiated Groups

Abstract

Several models of participation in status-differentiated groups are proposed, and their fit is examined with data from 31 six-person discussion groups which vary systematically in sex composition from entirely male to entirely female. The six models share a common framework in which participation is viewed as the outcome of two processes: first, a process by which chances to participate are channeled to group members, and second, a process by which chances are taken (or not) by the group members to whom they are allocated. The models differ at the level of specific assumptions about these processes: for example, in the baseline model chances are allocated equally to group members and each member has the same likelihood of taking a chance to which he or she is exposed. The best-fitting models are the basic hierarchy model first proposed by Horvath and a variant of this model in which higher-status actors are more likely than lower-status actors to take chances to which they are exposed. Neither model, however, provides completely satisfactory accounts of the data, suggesting the need for further study of how status differentiation affects participation in small-group task-oriented discussions.