Unequals: The Power of Status and Expectations in Our Social Lives - Hardcover

by Murray Webster Jr (Editor), Lisa Slattery Walker (Editor)

This book presents the latest research on status generalization in a variety of settings, examining new interventions for its negative effects. Drawing from research on status processes in sociology, social psychology, education, organizations, mental health, and other fields, the book connects to several bodies of research that include stigma and stereotyping, exchange and power, and organizations. The first part of the book establishes the foundations and recent developments. Next, the book delves into elaborations, variants, and interrelations. Throughout, the book illustrates how status processes are evident in settings like school classrooms and others, where interventions can improve interaction and participation between advantaged and disadvantaged students, genders, organizational positions, races, other dynamics that may be impacted by social status and expectation. The book concludes with chapters on applications and interventions to reduce unwanted inequalities in social interactions and institutions.

With its balanced, multidisciplinary approach to the challenges of social hierarchies and deep-rooted expectations, Unequals is an essential volume for all academic and scholarly readers interested in status processes and inequalities in our social lives.

Author Biography

Murray Webster Jr. is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at UNC Charlotte. After earning his AB, MA, and PhD at Stanford University, he served as a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University and the University of South Carolina, as well as a visiting faculty at San Jose State University, Emory University, and Stanford University. He has published papers on theory, group processes, and education in numerous journals and received the Cooley-Mead Award from the Social Psychology Section of ASA for lifetime achievement. He has twice served as Sociology Program Director at the National Science Foundation.

Lisa Slattery Walker (formerly Rashotte) is Professor of Sociology and Organizational Science at UNC Charlotte. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 1998. Her research focuses on small group interaction, nonverbal behaviors, identity, emotions, gender, and expectations. Her work has appeared in Social Psychology Quarterly, Social Science Research, Social Forces, Sex Roles, and numerous other journals. Dr. Walker has been PI or co-PI on six NSF-funded projects.