Inequality and Stratification Commons^™

Movement Without Mobility: Adolescent Status Hierarchies And The Contextual Limits Of Cumulative Advantage, Jeffrey A. Smith, Robert Faris

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper develops a theory of interpersonal status hierarchies that builds on and challenges traditional models of cumulative advantage. Cumulative advantage models predict stability in interpersonal status hierarchies, where status is defined by asymmetries in social relationships. According to strict cumulative advantage, initial status differences are exaggerated over time, making upward or downward mobility unlikely. We argue that interpersonal status hierarchies are instead quite fluid, with individuals regularly moving up or down the hierarchy. Individual status gains do not, however, disrupt the status order as the upwardly mobile are often pulled back to their original positions. This drag of the …