Signaling theory applies across mating and job markets
Evidence
The term “signaling” is used in both economics and zoology to describe when individuals communicate their high quality through specific clues in order to be selected by another party. In the wild, male birds signal their fitness for mating by flaunting gaudy plumage. In the job market, candidates signal their fitness for jobs by pointing to college degrees. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 193
Categorization
- DEFINE: Establishes the working definition of signaling that the book’s whole argument rests on.
- XREF: connects to: Costly signaling and CRED theories complement rather than contradict.; Appearance-based identity signaling only stabilizes social order when backed by coercion