Fictitious social position of competence, and performance in a foreign-language interaction situation: An experimental approach

A substantial body of research has shown that in experiments where subjects are required to accomplish an intellectual task, their cognitive performance is influenced by the social aspects of the situation. The goal of this study was to determine how a fictitious social position of inferiority or superiority affects cognitive activity. Two studies in which subjects interacted with a partner are reported. In the first, the subject's position in comparison to his/her partner stemmed from a fictitious level of competence assigned on a single comparative dimension (foreign-language proficiency). In the second, another comparative dimension whose social status was either high (geometry) or low (art) was added. The results showed that in a communicative interaction, what subjects are told about themselves and about their partner along one or two comparative dimensions is a determinant of the quantity and quality of what they produce. Theoretical explanations are proposed. One of them is based on classical studies on the working self-concept. A general point that emerges from these studies is that cognitive performance should be investigated not only in cognitive and didactic perspective, but also from a sociocognitive standpoint.