{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T05:05:36Z","timestamp":1779771936216,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779062400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007128","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2025JC-YBQN-254"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025JC-YBQN-254"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007128","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Social status, a fundamental dimension of human social life, shapes access to resources and opportunities and influences how individuals perceive and interact with others. Perceivers can infer others\u2019 social status from both perceptual cues (e.g., clothing) and knowledge-based cues (e.g., biographical information), yet it remains unclear whether and how these distinct types of status cues influence early-stage attentional selection. To address this question, the present study employed a modified two-rectangle paradigm to examine the effects of social status on space- and object-based attention. Social status was manipulated via perceptual cues (Experiment 1: upper-body clothing) and knowledge-based cues (Experiment 2: fictive biographies), and three stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs: 100, 300, and 500 ms) were included to capture the temporal dynamics. The results showed that both perceptual and knowledge-based status selectively modulated object-based attention at the 300 ms SOA, with comparable effect magnitudes, whereas space-based attention remained unaffected. These findings suggest that social status operates as a higher-order modulatory factor that selectively influences object-based attentional selection within a temporally constrained window. Moreover, the comparable effects of perceptual and knowledge-based cues support the notion that different types of status cues are integrated into a general representational format that guides attentional priority.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16050807","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T05:33:54Z","timestamp":1779687234000},"page":"807","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The General Mechanism of Status: The Impact of Perceptual and Knowledge-Based Social Status on Selective Attention"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yunfei","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"},{"name":"Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sicen","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"},{"name":"Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingjing","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"},{"name":"Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yonghui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"},{"name":"Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi\u2019an 710062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.07.001","article-title":"Outcome dependency alters the neural substrates of impression formation","volume":"83","author":"Ames","year":"2013","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"574","DOI":"10.1037\/a0038781","article-title":"Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature","volume":"141","author":"Anderson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2339","DOI":"10.1177\/17470218241230469","article-title":"Stereotypes bias social class perception from faces: The roles of race, gender, affect, and attractiveness","volume":"77","author":"Bjornsdottir","year":"2024","journal-title":"Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"530","DOI":"10.1037\/pspa0000091","article-title":"The visibility of social class from facial cues","volume":"113","author":"Bjornsdottir","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Breton, A., Jerbi, K., Henaff, M. A., Cheylus, A., Baudouin, J. Y., Schmitz, C., Krolak-Salmon, P., and Van der Henst, J. B. (2014). Face the hierarchy: ERP and oscillatory brain responses in social rank processing. PLoS ONE, 9, (3).","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0091451"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1255","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-012-0186-0","article-title":"MorePower 6.0 for ANOVA with relational confidence intervals and Bayesian analysis","volume":"44","author":"Campbell","year":"2012","journal-title":"Behavior Research Methods"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cortex.2022.02.013","article-title":"Behavioral and ERP evidence that object-based attention utilizes fine-grained spatial mechanisms","volume":"151","author":"Catak","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cortex"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1643","DOI":"10.3758\/s13423-023-02281-7","article-title":"The architecture of object-based attention","volume":"30","author":"Cavanagh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2371","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuropsychologia.2012.06.010","article-title":"The neural substrates of person perception: Spontaneous use of financial and moral status knowledge","volume":"50","author":"Cloutier","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/0010-0277(94)90020-5","article-title":"Beyond intuition and instinct blindness: Toward an evolutionarily rigorous cognitive science","volume":"50","author":"Cosmides","year":"1994","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1016\/j.riob.2011.09.004","article-title":"How social class shapes thoughts and actions in organizations","volume":"31","year":"2011","journal-title":"Research in Organizational Behavior"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-5371(72)80001-X","article-title":"Levels of processing: A framework for memory research","volume":"11","author":"Craik","year":"1972","journal-title":"Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.104.3.268","article-title":"Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory","volume":"104","author":"Craik","year":"1975","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dalmaso, M., Galfano, G., Coricelli, C., and Castelli, L. (2014). Temporal dynamics underlying the modulation of social status on social attention. PLoS ONE, 9, (3).","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0093139"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"450","DOI":"10.1098\/rsbl.2011.0881","article-title":"Social status gates social attention in humans","volume":"8","author":"Dalmaso","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biology Letters"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.1111\/josi.12208","article-title":"Poor but warm, rich but cold (and competent): Social classes in the stereotype content model","volume":"73","author":"Durante","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Social Issues"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.123.2.161","article-title":"Shifting visual attention between objects and locations: Evidence from normal and parietal lesion subjects","volume":"123","author":"Egly","year":"1994","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"878","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.82.6.878","article-title":"A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition","volume":"82","author":"Fiske","year":"2002","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1037\/a0022327","article-title":"A dynamic interactive theory of person construal","volume":"118","author":"Freeman","year":"2011","journal-title":"Psychological Review"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2016.03.003","article-title":"More than meets the eye: Split-second social perception","volume":"20","author":"Freeman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"206","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jesp.2012.10.015","article-title":"Influences of culture and visual context on real-time social categorization","volume":"49","author":"Freeman","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Freeman, J. B., Penner, A. M., Saperstein, A., Scheutz, M., and Ambady, N. (2011). Looking the part: Social status cues shape race perception. PLoS ONE, 6, (9).","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0025107"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.aesp.2019.09.005","article-title":"Dynamic interactive theory as a domain-general account of social perception","volume":"61","author":"Freeman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Advances in Experimental Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"40","article-title":"Revision of the Chinese facial affective picture system","volume":"25","author":"Gong","year":"2011","journal-title":"Chinese Mental Health Journal"},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"280","article-title":"Object-based attention is accentuated by object reward association","volume":"50","author":"Grignolio","year":"2024","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"392","DOI":"10.1037\/a0017346","article-title":"Going geen to be seen: Status, reputation, and conspicuous conservation","volume":"98","author":"Griskevicius","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1627","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsw074","article-title":"Conditioned social dominance threat: Observation of others\u2019 social dominance biases threat learning","volume":"11","author":"Haaker","year":"2016","journal-title":"Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1509\/jmkg.74.4.015","article-title":"Signaling status with luxury goods: The role of brand prominence","volume":"74","author":"Han","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Marketing"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1085","DOI":"10.1162\/0898929041502689","article-title":"Cue validity and object-based attention","volume":"16","author":"He","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2008.09.092","article-title":"Differentiating spatial and object-based effects on attention: An event-related brain potential study-with peripheral cueing","volume":"1245","author":"He","year":"2008","journal-title":"Brain Research"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1244","DOI":"10.1177\/1747021821991767","article-title":"The modulation of object-based attentional selection by facial expressions","volume":"74","author":"Hu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17985","DOI":"10.1007\/s12144-022-02990-7","article-title":"The impact of semantic matching on the additive effects of object-based attentional selection","volume":"42","author":"Hu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Current Psychology"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103046","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2020.103046","article-title":"The influence of object similarity on real object-based attention: The disassociation of perceptual and semantic similarity","volume":"205","author":"Hu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Psychologica"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e14320","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.14320","article-title":"Serial grouping of 2D-image regions with object-based attention in humans","volume":"5","author":"Jeurissen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Elife"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1368","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0001333","article-title":"Social status and unethical behavior: Two replications of the field studies in Piff et al. (2012)","volume":"152","author":"Jung","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327957PSPR0604_09","article-title":"Dynamical evolutionary psychology: Mapping the domains of the new interactionist paradigm","volume":"6","author":"Kenrick","year":"2002","journal-title":"Personality and Social Psychology Review"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2008.02251.x","article-title":"Signs of socioeconomic status: A thin-slicing approach","volume":"20","author":"Kraus","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychological Science"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691616673192","article-title":"Signs of social class: The experience of economic inequality in everyday life","volume":"12","author":"Kraus","year":"2017","journal-title":"Perspectives on Psychological Science"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jesp.2017.11.001","article-title":"Educationism and the irony of meritocracy: Negative attitudes of higher educated people towards the less educated","volume":"76","author":"Kuppens","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.127.2.187","article-title":"Evolutionary origins of stigmatization: The functions of social exclusion","volume":"127","author":"Kurzban","year":"2001","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1002\/jcpy.1028","article-title":"Did they earn it? Observing unearned luxury consumption decreases brand attitude when observers value fairness","volume":"28","author":"Lee","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Consumer Psychology"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1027","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2012.06.001","article-title":"The root of all value: A neural common currency for choice","volume":"22","author":"Levy","year":"2012","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.3758\/s13423-024-02542-z","article-title":"Unraveling the mechanism of semantic object-based attention: The role of top-down search strategies","volume":"32","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.5465\/19416520802211628","article-title":"Social hierarchy: The self-reinforcing nature of power and status","volume":"2","author":"Magee","year":"2008","journal-title":"Academy of Management Annals"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-019-0770-8","article-title":"Status beyond what meets the eye","volume":"4","author":"Mattan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nature Human Behaviour"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"468","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691616677828","article-title":"How social status shapes person perception and evaluation: A social neuroscience perspective","volume":"12","author":"Mattan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Perspectives on Psychological Science"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1512","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167219835230","article-title":"Implicit evaluative biases toward targets varying in race and socioeconomic status","volume":"45","author":"Mattan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-019-0782-4","article-title":"Economic status cues from clothes affect perceived competence from faces","volume":"4","author":"Oh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nature Human Behaviour"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1177\/14747049211056160","article-title":"Cues of social status: Associations between attractiveness, dominance, and status","volume":"19","author":"Rahal","year":"2021","journal-title":"Evolutionary Psychology"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1003","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167211407210","article-title":"The allure of status: High-status targets are privileged in face processing and memory","volume":"37","author":"Ratcliff","year":"2011","journal-title":"Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1493","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0000220","article-title":"The roles of perceptual and conceptual information in face recognition","volume":"145","author":"Schwartz","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"467","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsu074","article-title":"A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum","volume":"10","author":"Sescousse","year":"2015","journal-title":"Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"183","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2019.07.043","article-title":"The effects of low socioeconomic status on decision-making processes","volume":"33","year":"2020","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Psychology"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1167\/jov.20.9.17","article-title":"Different temporal dynamics of object-based attentional allocation for reward and non-reward objects","volume":"20","author":"Song","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Vision"},{"key":"ref_55","first-page":"765","article-title":"Are you looking at me? Impact of eye contact on object-based attention","volume":"47","author":"Song","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"748","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.1041.2022.00748","article-title":"The impact and mechanism of gaze cues on object-based attention","volume":"54","author":"Yan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Acta Psychologica Sinica"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2017.09.050","article-title":"Attentional selection of multiple objects in the human visual system","volume":"163","author":"Zhang","year":"2017","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"460","DOI":"10.1111\/bjop.12418","article-title":"The impact of monetary stimuli on object-based attention","volume":"111","author":"Zhao","year":"2020","journal-title":"British Journal of Psychology"},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2008.01.025","article-title":"Know your place: Neural processing of social hierarchy in humans","volume":"58","author":"Zink","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neuron"}],"container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/5\/807\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T04:43:40Z","timestamp":1779770620000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/5\/807"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]},"references-count":59,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["bs16050807"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/bs16050807","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-328X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-328X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]}}}