A crowd amplification effect in the perception of social status

Ensemble perception is the ability to perceive sets of similar objects using a summary statistical representation. However, efficient representations of ensembles can come at a cost, as information about individual differences is necessarily lost through averaging. This work is centered on understanding the socio-cognitive consequences of a system that sacrifices information in favor of the average, explored in the context of social status. Social status is a multidimensional construct that includes an array of factors, including social economic status, trustworthiness, race, among others. Social status is commonly evaluated on a hierarchical ladder (the higher the rung, the higher the status). Our experiments were divided into two phases. In Phase 1, observers rated the social status of full bodies presented singularly. In Phase 2, observers rated the average social status of those same items presented in ensembles. In Experiment 1, race varied but the ensembles, constructed in Phase 2 from the individual ratings of Phase 1, came from the middle of the ladder. Results revealed an amplification effect, whereby the ensemble was rated higher than expected compared to the average of its constituents. Interestingly, there was an interaction with race — black individuals’ social status increased more than white individuals’ when presented in a crowd. In Experiment 2, sets were composed of only white individuals, but came from multiple rungs on the ladder (i.e., set social status varied). Results replicated our amplification effect, but the direction of amplification varied depending on where on the ladder stimuli came from. Low status sets were rated even lower than what was expected, while high status sets were rated even higher. Overall, our results reveal that perceptions of social status are altered when judging people within the context of a crowd versus in isolation.