Status and Participation in Task Groups: A Dynamic Network Model

Abstract

This article presents a dynamic model for the formation of status orders in small task groups whose members may be differnetiated by a diffuse status characteristic. This theoretical strategy embodies " E-state structuralism," wich unites the social psychological formalism of expectation states theory with social network research. Using the development of status hierarchies via differential participation in group discussion, the formal model synthesizes (a) the conceptual structure of Fisek, Berger, and Norman, (b) Balkwell's formula for status effects on probabilities of directed participation, and (c) Fararo and Skvoretz's E-state structuralism model for the formation of dominance structures. After describing this synthesis, the article presents the model in axiomatic form and provides a simulation of its dynamic consequences.