EFFECTS OF STATUS INCONSISTENCY UPON THE COOPERATIVE WORKING

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of status inconsistency upon the cooperative group. In the experiment, 128 5th-grade boys and girls were used as subjects, who were divided into four-person groups (firms) and requested to make Harië (mosaic works). The president elected in the group took the most important role in the consistent group, but one did a less important role in the inconsistent. Each group was given a condition either for success or for failure. The inconsistent-failure group demonstrated more conflict than the other but no conflict was noted in the inconsistent-success. In this group, moreover, the inconsistent members tended to adhere to the group norm, while the consistent members were inclined to deviate from it.