A high social status gives a lot to its bearer: money, power, privileges… It would seem that the higher the bar, the greater the risk. However, a recent study showed that we respond better to stress when we are confident in our high position.
Can the happy holders of a high position in society boast good health? At first glance, this conclusion seems doubtful: after all, top managers of companies, who, together with the authorities, assume greater responsibility, are clearly experiencing more stress than their less responsible subordinates.
But Professor Modupe Akinola of Columbia Business School and Professor Wendy Berry Mendes of the University of California (USA) are sure that high social status has a positive effect on short-term psychological, physiological and behavioral performance *. This was confirmed by two experiments**.
To complete the first task, police officers were involved, who, before starting the experiment, had to assess their social status in relation to their colleagues. After that, the subjects were included in a role-playing game, during which they experienced severe stress. They were all warned that the results of such an assignment were grounds for promotions in many police departments. Officers who rated their social status as high showed the best physiological results in response to stress.
Read more:
- The price of success: how much we are willing to pay
Next, the researchers moved on to a deeper study of the relationship between status and adaptation to stress in the subjects. Men with higher education were invited to participate in the second stage of the experiment. Unlike the first experiment, they were given social roles by the experimenters themselves – they were involved in a video game. During the tense game, the response of their cardiovascular system to stress and testosterone levels were monitored. The results of this experiment finally confirmed the correctness of the hypothesis put forward – the participants who received a conditional high social status at the beginning demonstrated not only a better physiological result, but also a positive attitude throughout the task.
*
** http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/ideas-at-work/publication/832