Do Status Interventions Persist?

A body of research within the status characteristics and expectation states program is concerned with eliminating status disadvantages in a single, collective group-task situation. The present work attempts to determine the extent to which such status interventions will transfer across different group tasks and partners. We argue that this problem can be solved using the theory of status characteristics and expectation states by extending the theory to multi-task, multi-partner situations. We tested a set of theoretically derived predictions in a standardized experimental setting. It was determined that (I) differences in educational attainment led to interaction inequalities in an initial collective-task situation; (2) inequalities could be overcome using theoretically prescribed status intervention techniques; and (3) a significant portion of this intervention effect transferred to a subsequent setting involving a new group task and a new partner. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.