An Experimental Examination of Biological Sex as a Status Cue in Decision-Making Groups and Its Influence on Information Use

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of biological sex as a nonverbal indicator of status on the use of information in a decision-making group. Drawing on status characteristics theory, this article posits that the sex of the group member who introduces a piece of information into discussion affects the likelihood of the information's use in making a decision. More specifically, the author hypothesizes that information introduced by males has a higher probability of use than information introduced by females. The results of the statistical analyses support the hypothesis. Furthermore, if the information is known to all members of the group before discussion, the sex of the group member who introduces it in the discussion has less impact on its use than if the information is unique to one member