Preferential selection independent of race and gender: Effects on self-evaluations and newcomer information-seeking behaviors

The current study investigated the effects of an experimentally imposed program of preferential selection on beneficiary self-evaluations and newcomer information-seeking behavior. One hundred-twenty undergraduates were randomly assigned to a classification condition (in which they were informed that they tended to think in either an "analytical" or "abstract" manner) and collaborated on a task in groups of three. A fourth participant was introduced into each of these 40 extant groups under either a condition of preferential selection or not. Preferentially selected newcomers were shown to have more positive self-evaluations than their nonpreferentially selected counterparts. The presence or absence of a "similar" (in terms of thinking style) incumbent moderated the effect of being preferentially selected on the use of specific information-seeking behaviors. © 2002 Plenum Publishing Corporation.