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Being distinctive versus being conspicuous: The effects of numeric status and sex-stereotyped tasks on individual performance in groups

Author

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  • Chatman, Jennifer A.
  • Boisnier, Alicia D.
  • Spataro, Sandra E.
  • Anderson, Cameron
  • Berdahl, Jennifer L.

Abstract

Being in the numeric minority (e.g., being a solo woman in a group of men) influences how well a person performs within a work group. But being the solo member is only one way in which people can be atypical in a group; a person can also represent a social or demographic category that has not typically been associated with the task that the group is working on. Using a design with four categories of group composition (minority, balanced, majority, homogeneous) and two categories of tasks (sex-typical, sex-atypical) we found that the sex composition of the group interacted with the sex typicality of the task to influence both positive deferrals by group members and individual performance in groups. But, rather than consistently reducing performance as prior research has suggested, being numerically atypical enhanced individual performance when the task was typical for that person's sex. Further, positive deferrals mediated between the interaction of numeric composition and task typicality in influencing individual performance suggesting that both majority group members and the solo member affect one another's performance in groups. We conclude by discussing why understanding the interplay between these two sources of stereotyping, numeric composition and task typicality, is important for understanding the social nature of individual performance in groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Chatman, Jennifer A. & Boisnier, Alicia D. & Spataro, Sandra E. & Anderson, Cameron & Berdahl, Jennifer L., 2008. "Being distinctive versus being conspicuous: The effects of numeric status and sex-stereotyped tasks on individual performance in groups," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 141-160, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:107:y:2008:i:2:p:141-160
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kirgios, Erika L. & Chang, Edward H. & Milkman, Katherine L., 2020. "Going it alone: Competition increases the attractiveness of minority status," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 20-33.
    2. Chatman, Jennifer A. & Sharps, Daron & Mishra, Sonya & Kray, Laura J. & North, Michael S., 2022. "Agentic but not warm: Age-gender interactions and the consequences of stereotype incongruity perceptions for middle-aged professional women," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Hans van Dijk & Bertolt Meyer & Marloes van Engen, 2018. "If it doesn’t help, it doesn’t hurt? Information elaboration harms the performance of gender-diverse teams when attributions of competence are inaccurate," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.

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