Teasing, taunting, and the politics of politeness: high sociometric status is associated with expectation-consistent behavior.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Level by design analogy (non-clinical quasi-experimental and observational behavioral studies).
PubMed 25157930 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104737
What was done
Two studies evaluated whether high sociometric status in adolescents relates to behavior that conforms to social norms and situational expectations. In Study 1, adolescent participants engaged in a face-to-face interaction where they teased an opposite-gender friend. In Study 2, an experiment manipulated interaction expectations by instructing participants either to taunt or to cheer on a partner.
What was found
The abstract reports directional behavioral patterns without numerical data, effect sizes, or p-values. In Study 1, high-status boys and girls engaged in teasing behaviors that were more consistent with gender roles than low-status peers. In Study 2, high-status boys displayed more direct provocation and off-record commentary during taunting conditions and more affiliative behavior during cheering conditions compared to low-status boys.
Why it matters
This work indicates that holding high social status is linked to dynamic conformity to context-specific behavioral expectations rather than uniform dominance or politeness, suggesting a behavioral mechanism for status maintenance.
Limits
The abstract reports no sample sizes, participant demographics, quantitative statistics, or confidence intervals. Sociometric status was measured rather than randomly assigned, precluding definitive causal claims about status driving the behavior. The reported findings in Study 2 focus primarily on boys, leaving effects in girls uncharacterized in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Individuals who tease in a playful way that highlights group norms without humiliating others are more popular within the group.