| Abstract: | This study examined in-group members' impressions of a fellow member who attempted to join a higher power group, along with the interactive effects of the permeability of group boundaries and relative success of this social mobility attempt on impressions. Because groups with less permeable boundaries are typically more cohesive, a group member's relative success in achieving mobility should have meaning for these groups, as opposed to those with more permeable boundaries. Thus, it was predicted that the effect of success versus failure on in-group members' evaluations would be stronger when group boundaries were less permeable. The results showed that a member successful at social mobility was evaluated more positively than one who was unsuccessful, and this difference was larger when boundaries were less permeable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
