The present study attempted to examine the relationship between status and deviant behavior. An experiment was designed to determine whether an individual possessing low status in a small group would be more likely to cheat when presented with the opportunity than an individual occupying a middle or high status position. / Sixty female undergraduate students volunteered to participate. Each subject met in a small group with two (2) female confederates and one (1) male confederate who posed as subjects. Differential levels of status were induced by assigning each group member an objective status source consisting of a false score on a test. Subjects had been led to believe the test measured sensitivity and had been correlated with I.Q. and leadership potential. The confederates then conferred status on the subjects by either flattering a higher scorer or by obviously ignoring a low scorer. Middle scorers were treated in a neutral manner. Subjects were then provided an opportunity to cheat on a subsequent test. No statistically significant differences were found among the number of subjects who cheated in each status condition. In addition, the experiment attempted to identify whether the effects of status stemmed from an objective status source (i.e., level of competency on a test) which subjects might value in and of itself, or the response of their peer group to their objective level of achievement. Subjects were no more likely to cheat when their peers recognized their objective status source then when no one recognized their objective level of achievement. / It was suggested that the small sample size and the use of a nominal-level dependent variable may have contributed to the lack of statistically significant findings. Therefore, the experiment was reexamined in terms of its methodology. Recommendations were made for an increase in sample size as well as modification in the measurement of the dependent variable (i.e., cheating). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4596. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74657 |
| Contributors | PEASE, SUSAN ELIZABETH., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 124 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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