Avoiding the appearance of favoritism in evaluating similar others: The impact of status and distinctiveness

Evaluations play a critical role in decisions such as who joins, who leaves, and who succeeds in organizations. Research has shown a tendency for individuals to favor similar others (i.e., exhibit in-group favoritism), which can result in a biased evaluation process. I argue that when groups make evaluations, concerns about appearing to favor one's in-group or about being seen as biased, may lead certain group members to adjust their evaluations to avoid this appearance. Using laboratory experiments, I examined the impact that distinctiveness (being in the minority or majority) and status in a group have on evaluations of others.;Study 1 shows that individuals who are numerically distinctive believe that others attribute their evaluations of a similar other more to their shared category than do non-distinctive individuals. Further, distinctive individuals are more concerned that their evaluations of a similar other will be seen as biased than are non-distinctive individuals. Study 2 finds that low status distinctive individuals (females in the minority) are more likely to exhibit out-group favoritism. Both studies show a significant relationship between overall evaluation of an in-group candidate and concerns with appearing biased to others; specifically, it was found that the higher the overall evaluation of a similar other, the more concerned evaluators are with appearing to favor their in-group. The results have implications for how diversity impacts evaluations made by groups in organizations.