Status Characteristics Theory A group of five college students who each belonged to a Greek association had to decide on what hotel to stay in during their spring break vacation in Cancun. There is a valued, collective task within this situation. They all have invested a lot of money for this trip and they all want to make sure they get the most for their money. All of the five students knew each other and the organizations to which they belong prior to this meeting. The characteristics of each are as follows:NameYearSexGreek OrganizationEthnicityJeffSeniorMaleSigma EpsilonEuropean AmericanBonnieSophomoreFemalePhi SigmaHispanic AmericanDustinJuniorMaleTao OmegaEuropean AmericanClydeSophomoreMale Kappa PhiAfrican AmericanHaley Senior FemaleAlpha DeltaEuropean AmericanAll the students are from very different organizations and possess the general characteristics that are associated with their specific organization. For instance, it is known on this particular campus that the Phi Sigma’s are the “promiscuous” girls, the Tao Omega boys are the “party animals,” the Sigma Epsilon gentlemen are the most active in the Student Government Association, and so forth. Thus, the expectations they have from their knowledge of the Greek clubs are relevant in the way they are going to interact. Also, the gender and ethnicity of each of the students are external status characteristics that contribute to the expectations one may have of their particular input. The meeting was held in a small room with a large, rectangular table. No one sat at the very ends of the table. Jeff and Haley sat on opposite sides of each other in the middle of the table. Right away, this behavior of being a central focus leads to the expectation of their ability to be leaders and accomplish the task. Hence, stratification has occurred.Jeff, Haley, and Dustin spoke the most during the course of the interaction and were dismissive toward t...
