Reality or appearance?

"Fake it till you make it": It actually works. To achieve a high reputation, you don't have to be particularly competent or virtuous - it's enough to sell yourself well. This is the conclusion drawn by Michael Grosz from HMU Potsdam and his colleagues from studies involving more than 56,000 test subjects who had worked together in groups at university, at work or in experimental laboratories. In their meta-analysis, the three psychologists looked for characteristics that help a person achieve a high reputation.

As they report in the "Psychological Bulletin", they tested four theories. Firstly, someone could have skills such as intelligence, and secondly, altruistic virtues such as selflessness and helpfulness. Both were largely confirmed: Both competent and altruistic respondents were more likely to be given a leading role and more influence, and the altruistic respondents were also more popular and respected. Of all the characteristics surveyed, altruism was most strongly related to the four status characteristics.

A third theory was not confirmed: that dominance characteristics promote status. Those who were tall had slightly more influence than physically smaller people. But those who wanted to assert themselves ruthlessly were even more unpopular and less respected. Self-confident behaviour, on the other hand, proved to be advantageous. Combined with extraversion and an appearance focussed on impact, the authors see this as a fourth status factor: dazzling self-presentation.

The authors therefore recommend that highly respected people should not take competence or other virtues for granted. Although social status often indicates special abilities or selflessness, the four status characteristics are most strongly linked to altruistic virtues. "At the same time, the results suggest that people can also achieve status if they simply give the impression of competence and selflessness through their self-confident or self-promoting manner," summarised Michael Grosz in a press release from his university.

How exactly social status arises from this needs to be researched in more detail, the authors concede. The correlations described are only correlations; they can therefore be traced back to a common third cause. It also depends on the group and its tasks. In some teams, for example, a conscientious approach to work is particularly valued, in others an agreeable character - depending on what serves the group. The extent to which a characteristic is linked to social standing on average therefore says little about the individual case.

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