Prior work suggests that high-status group members are favored for hierarchy-maintaining roles, while low-status group members are favored for hierarchy-attenuating ones—but the mechanisms driving this phenomenon are largely unknown. The current work examines this phenomenon in the domain of race, testing three potential mechanisms: role status, representativeness, and hierarchy profiling. According to a role status account, hierarchy-maintaining roles are seen as higher-status than hierarchy-attenuating ones, driving effects. A representativeness account suggests that hierarchy-maintaining roles are seen as including more White (or fewer minority) job-holders than hierarchy-attenuating ones, driving effects. Finally, a hierarchy profiling account suggests that evaluators see the typical hire for hierarchy-maintaining roles as more conservative (or less liberal), driving effects. In three studies, White evaluators rated a White male applicant a better fit for a hierarchy-maintaining role (e.g., CEO of a hedge fund) than a hierarchy-attenuating one (e.g., CEO of a nonprofit). There was, however, no impact of a role's perceived impact on inequality on ratings of Black male or Latino applicant fit (Studies 1–3). This effect persisted regardless of role status (Study 2), negating a role status account. However, a final study supported representativeness and hierarchy profiling accounts. White evaluators rated the typical hire for a hierarchy-maintaining role as more White and conservative, mediating ratings of White applicant fit (Study 3). Three supplemental studies replicated all results. Findings reveal the mechanisms that can hold social hierarchy in place, keeping high-status group members in hierarchy-maintaining roles and low-status group members in hierarchy-attenuating ones.

先前的工作表明，高地位的群体成员倾向于维持等级的角色，而低地位的群体成员则倾向于削弱等级的角色——但驱动这种现象的机制在很大程度上是未知的。当前的工作在种族领域研究了这种现象，测试了三种潜在的机制：角色地位、代表性和层次结构分析。根据角色状态帐户，维护等级的角色被视为比等级衰减角色更高的地位，驱动效果。代表性帐户表明，维持等级的角色被视为包括更多的白人（或更少的少数族裔）工作持有者，而不是降低等级的角色，从而产生驱动效应。最后，层级分析帐户表明，评估人员将维持层级的角色的典型聘用视为更保守（或不那么自由）的驱动效应。在三项研究中，白人评估员认为白人男性申请人更适合担任维持等级制度的角色（例如，对冲基金的 CEO），而不是削弱等级制度的职位（例如，非营利组织的 CEO）。然而，角色对不平等的感知影响对黑人男性或拉丁裔申请人适合的评级没有影响（研究 1-3）。无论角色状态如何（研究 2），这种影响都会持续存在，从而否定角色状态帐户。但是，最终研究支持代表性和层次结构分析帐户。白人评估员将典型雇佣的等级维持角色评为更白人和保守，调解白人申请人适合度（研究 3）。三项补充研究重复了所有结果。调查结果揭示了可以保持社会等级的机制，将高地位的群体成员保持在等级维持的角色中，并将低地位的群体成员保持在等级衰减的角色中。