Who Do I (Dis)Trust and Monitor for Ethical Misconduct? Status, Power, and the Structural Paradox.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Business Ethics

Background:

• Trust is fundamental for social exchange and cooperation.
• Distrust can lead to negative interpersonal and ethical outcomes.
• Social hierarchy influences interpersonal judgments and trust.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of a high power-low status paradox in predicting distrust.
• To examine how this structural paradox influences ethical monitoring.
• To understand the mechanisms underlying distrust in high power-low status individuals.

Main Methods:

• Four empirical studies and an internal meta-analysis were conducted.
• Methods included judgment tasks and a trust game.
• Behavioral observation of monitoring for cheating was employed.

Main Results:

• High power-low status individuals were judged as less trustworthy.
• These individuals received less money in trust games, mediated by dislike.
• High power-low status individuals faced increased monitoring for cheating, partly due to trust judgments.

Conclusions:

• The structural paradox of high power and low status predicts distrust and increased monitoring.
• Dislike and trust judgments mediate the effects of this paradox.
• Findings offer insights for business ethics regarding trust dynamics.