The Perceptually "Privileged" Group Member: Consequences of Solo Status for African Americans and Whites in Task Groups

The effect of solo status was investigated in 32 same-sex small groups in which the racial status of one of the four members was systematically varied to reflect African American and White group majorities. During one task-oriented session, each group member made ratings of one another and selected one member to be leader on a future task. Judgments of solos varied as a function of their racial status. African American solos were judged more favorably and were more often selected to be leader than were White targets in both African American and White majorities. More generally, these findings indicate that theories of relative numbers and salience effects that explain group processes in gender contexts do not apply in the same way to race contexts. Implications of these findings for organizational settings, and interracial interaction in small groups are discussed.