Unanimous status beliefs make hierarchies feel natural and legitimate

Evidence

In groups where everyone is dedicated to the same status beliefs, there will be strong status integrity. Members see the hierarchy as natural and, thus, legitimate. Deference to elites is automatic, and lower-status members lend their time, energy, and support to superiors for the sake of the group. Bertrand Russell writes, “When men willingly follow a leader, they do so with a view to the acquisition of power by the group which he commands, and they feel that his triumphs are theirs.” Members of a basketball team happily reward the MVP with additional status if she sinks a winning shot at the buzzer. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 98

Categorization

• XREF: The Russell quote on group power acquisition connects to the earlier chapter on status as belonging/group psychology noted in trust and honor literature. — connects to: Status hierarchies form naturally whenever groups pursue shared goals — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 57; Status groups share beliefs that both cohere members and divide outsiders — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 95; Subordinate groups share the dominant status ranking of their own subordination — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 3252 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Explanations for group positions become justifications that make the status quo seem natural #expands (0.85)
• Clear status hierarchies alone produce quiescence absent perceived illegitimacy or instability #corroborates (0.82) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2754
• Subordinate groups share the dominant status ranking of their own subordination #corroborates (0.80) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3252
• Legitimized status hierarchies suppress ethnocentrism at the cost of subordinate self-esteem #qualifies (0.75)