The past, present, and future of experimental methods in the social sciences

In the midst of the current causal revolution, experimental methods are increasingly embraced across the social sciences. We first document the growth in the use of the experimental method and then overview the current state of the field along with suggestions for future research. Our review covers the core features of experiments that facilitate causal inference, and we offer numerous examples of different experimental designs and the types of research questions they are well-suited to test. We then harmonize popular but differing perspectives on validity in regard to experiments focused on theoretical considerations. Next, we detail a new framework of purposive sampling for social science experiments, suggesting researchers could benefit from moving beyond only two stock choices of representativeness or convenience. We then discuss issues of analysis unique to experimental data before ending with a critical discussion of null findings, open-science practices, social desirability, and other open debates in the experimental methods literature.

When Does Status Transfer between People? A Crowdsourced Experiment on the Scope of Status by Association

It is well known in social psychology that people are judged by the company they keep, but when and how does that company affect how individuals are evaluated? This article extends expectation states theory to explain associative status. The theory predicts that the status value of former coworkers will “spill over” to positively predict a person’s status position in a new task with new coworkers. A series of crowdsourced experiments finds that status spreads to a person from a former interaction partner. The status of one’s associates predicts deference behavior only when the previous and current task contexts rely on similar abilities. Meanwhile, explicitly evaluated status and performance expectations respond to the status of associates regardless of how interaction contexts are related. The present findings highlight the importance of role relationships and task contexts as moderators that regulate whether status transfers from one person to another.