2021/05/24 by Bianca Manago, Trenton D. Mize, Long Doan · 29 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Applied psychology #Causality (physics) #Computer science #Data science #Debriefing #Field (mathematics) #Management science #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Psychology #Resource (disambiguation) #Scope (computer science) #Social Power and Status Dynamics #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social psychology #Task (project management) #Test (biology) #The Internet #World Wide Web
paper · doi:10.1177/00811750211014242
published in Sociological Methodology 51(2), 319-347 (SAGE Publishing)
crossref issued 2021/05/24 · crossref published 2021/05/24 · crossref published-online 2021/05/24 · openalex publication_date 2021/05/24 · crossref created 2021/05/24 · crossref published-print 2021/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Laboratory experiments have a long history within sociology, with their ability to test causality and their utility for directly observing behavior providing key advantages. One influential social psychological field, status characteristics and expectation states theory, has almost exclusively used laboratory experiments to test the theory. Unfortunately, laboratory experiments are resource intensive, requiring a research pool, laboratory space, and considerable amounts of time. For these and other reasons, social scientists are increasingly exploring the possibility of moving experiments from the lab to an online platform. Despite the advantages of the online setting, the transition from the lab is challenging, especially when studying behavior. In this project, we develop methods to translate the traditional status characteristics experimental setting from the laboratory to online. We conducted parallel laboratory and online behavioral experiments using three tasks from the status literature, comparing each task’s ability to differentiate on the basis of status distinctions. The tasks produce equivalent results in the online and laboratory environment; however, not all tasks are equally sensitive to status differences. Finally, we provide more general guidance on how to move vital aspects of laboratory studies, such as debriefing, suspicion checks, and scope condition checks, to the online setting.