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Socioeconomic Status Shapes Dyadic Interactions: Examining Behavioral and Physiologic Responses
Jacinth J X Tan1, Tessa V West2, Wendy Berry Mendes3
1School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University.
Abstract:
With more opportunities for diverse interactions, little is known about how social interactions involving people of different socioeconomic status (SES) may unfold. We investigated social-attunement patterns in dyadic interactions involving SES. Unacquainted adults recruited from a community in the United States interacted with similar-or-different-SES partners in the lab (N = 130 dyads). Attunement was assessed throughout the interaction by examining physiological linkage-how much a person's physiological change is predicted by another's physiological change over time. Overall, low-SES participants showed stronger physiological linkage-indicating greater attunement-to partners across SES. Participants also appeared more comfortable when interacting with low-SES partners. There were no SES differences in dominance during the conversation. After the interaction, participants reported liking similar-SES partners more than different-SES partners. These patterns suggest that during interactions, lower-SES individuals are more other-focused than high-SES individuals, and in-group preference prevails. We note limitations in the racial representation of our sample.
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