APS
2026 APS Annual Convention · 2026
Is Hierarchy Good or Bad for Teams? Evidence That Dominance Undermines and Prestige Supports Team Functioning
- Lynden Jensen
Western University - Joey Cheng
York University - Alex Benson
University of Western Ontario
Abstract
Using longitudinal data from over 300 teams, we examined how dominance and prestige hierarchies predicted team functioning. The most functional teams were characterized by (a) low prestige steepness, (b) high collective prestige, (c) low dominance steepness, and (d) low collective dominance.