Group Processes and Individual Differences in Standardized Test Scores

9618840 Lovaglia拟议的研究扩展了一项理论研究计划，即地位特征和期望理论，该计划在解释小群体中的地位等级和分层过程方面取得了丰硕成果。在某些情况下，个人在标准化能力测试中的表现可能被纳入身份特征理论的范围。新的理论发展确定了身份过程应该影响个人表现的情况。然后，扩展后的理论可以应用于社会理论中的一个基本问题：拥有相似历史和文化背景的群体成员的不平等表现。社会理论现在解释说，群体成员之间的表现差异源于个人背景：在文化丰富的环境中成长不仅与高等教育和社会经济地位有关，而且还与高表现有关。这一扩展理论试图解释具有相似教育、社会经济和文化背景的群体成员在表现上的差异。缺乏这样的社会理论，就可以假设基因决定了背景相似的人(例如，住在同一社区、上同一所学校的中产阶级非裔美国学生和欧洲裔美国学生)在表现上的差异。与遗传解释相反，将群体分层的地位过程可能解释了背景相似的人在表现上的差异。高地位可能会增加奖励，降低卓越绩效的成本。因此，地位低的人可能表现不佳，尽管与生俱来的能力与地位高、表现更好的人是一样的。我们建议进行一系列研究，在新的实验环境中检验这一理论。计算机程序将创造一个群体情境，模拟在学校和工作环境中常见的高地位和低地位群体过程。受试者被随机分配到高地位或低地位的位置。这些实验将确定不同的小组过程对个人在几个标准化测试中的分数的影响。随机化的实验设计排除了所发现的影响可能源于基因的可能性。***

9618840 Lovaglia The proposed research extends a theoretical research program, status characteristics and expectation theories, that has been fruitful in explaining status hierarchies and stratification processes in small groups. In certain situations, individual performance on standardized tests of ability may be included within the scope of status characteristics theory. New theoretical developments identify those situations in which status processes should affect individual performance. The extended theory can then be applied to a fundamental problem in social theory: the unequal performance of group members who share similar histories and cultural backgrounds. Social theory now explains differences in performance among group members as stemming from individuals' backgrounds: being rasised in cultural enriched settings is associated with not only high education and socioeconomic status, but high performance as well. The extended theory seeks to explain differences in performance among group members with similar educational, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Lacking such social theory allows the presumption that genetics determines the differences in performance among those of similar background (e.g., middle class African-American and European-American students who live in the same neighborhoods and attend the same schools). Countering the genetic explanation, status processes that stratify groups may explain differences in performance among those of similar background. High status may increase the rewards and decrease the costs of superior performance. Thus individuals relegated to low status positions may perform poorly despite innate ability that is identical to high status individuals who perform better. We propose to conduct a series of studies that will test this theory in a new experimental setting. Computer programs will create a group situation that models high status and low status group processes commonly found in school and work situations. Subjects are the n assigned randomly to a high status or low status position. These experiments will determine the effect of different group processes on individuals' scores on several standardized tests. The randomized experimental design rules out the possibility that effects found could have genetic origins. ***