The Differential Effects of Solo Status on Members of High- and Low-Status Groups

Individuals experience solo status when they are the only members of their social category (e.g., gender or race) present in a group. Field research indicates that women and racial minorities are more debilitated by solo status than White men. However, lab oratory research indicates that men and women are equally debilitated as solos. We noted that laboratory studies introduced solo status during learning, whereas field research examined solo status at performance. Therefore, we predicted that high and low social status group members would be differentially influenced by solo status experienced during testing. In two laboratory experiments, men and women and African Americans and Whites experienced solo status during an oral examination. In Experiment 1, White women performed more poorly than White men taking the exam before an opposite-sex (but same-race) audience. In Experiment 2, African American women performed more poorly than White women taking the exam before an other-race (but same-gender) audience.