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This paper investigates how we infer the status of others from their social relationships. In a series of experimental studies, we test the effects of a social relationship's type and direction on the status judgments of others. We demonstrate empirically, possibly for the first time, a widely-assumed connection between network structure and perceptions of status; that is, that observers do infer the status positions of group members from their relationships. Moreover, we find that observers' status judgments vary with the direction and type of social relationship. We theorize that underlying this variance in status judgments are two relational schemas which differentially influence the processing of the observed social ties. Our finding that only the linear-ordering schema leads to status inferences provides an important scope condition to prior research on network cognition, and specifically on the perceptions of social status.

Current research on status hierarchy dynamics focuses on the potential for and constraints to individual mobility. In this essay, I argue that Merton's Matthew Effect incorrectly categorizes activity below a status threshold as linear. This mis-specification calls into question existing models of competitions for social status. I argue for an improved theory of status tournaments as asymmetric, non-binary, and agentic. Through that new perspective, I raise questions for the legitimacy and power of stratifying institutions.

Merton's famous essay on recognition and rewards in scientific careers, "The Matthew Effect in Science", has reached middle age. This Dialog reflects on established research that separates the origins and the consequences of status, and recent contributions regarding the constraints of status advantages. In doing so, this collection responds to a growing scholarly debate about the returns to high status. The authors engage with Merton's cumulative status advantage, and go further to identify downsides of increased recognition both for individuals and for the status system itself. The six articles in this Dialog evaluate the progress made towards Merton's proposed research agenda and highlight opportunities for its extension.

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