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Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship

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  • Przepiorka, Wojtek

    (Utrecht University)

Abstract

Signaling theory (ST) describes how people deal with and overcome uncertainties about others’ attributes and intentions relevant to their interactions. I integrate ST into a multilevel framework to highlight how people's need to overcome these uncertainties shapes collective outcomes and to spell out the different conditions for the theory's predictions. After a nontechnical outline of the integrated ST framework, I review three strands of sociological scholarship that have applied ST, broadly construed: (a) the job market and the education-to-work transition, (b) trust and cooperation in social and economic exchange relations, and (c) signaling norms and boundary making in intergroup relations. After recounting how ST has spurred the sociological imagination, I sketch promising research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Przepiorka, Wojtek, 2025. "Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship," OSF Preprints hwkny_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:hwkny_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/hwkny_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rebecca Bliege Bird & Elspeth Ready & Eleanor A. Power, 2018. "The social significance of subtle signals," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 452-457, July.
    2. Jennifer L. Doleac & Luke C.D. Stein, 2013. "The Visible Hand: Race and Online Market Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(11), pages 469-492, November.
    3. Fabrizio Zerbini, 2017. "CSR Initiatives as Market Signals: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Diego Gambetta & Wojtek Przepiorka, 2014. "Natural and Strategic Generosity as Signals of Trustworthiness," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-9, May.
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