arbiter
JournalsAccount

Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship

Wojtek Przepiorka

Annual Review of Sociology2025https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090524-044242article
AJG 4*ABDC A*
Weight
0.44

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.

3 citations

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090524-044242

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{wojtek2025,
  title        = {{Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship}},
  author       = {Wojtek Przepiorka},
  journal      = {Annual Review of Sociology},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090524-044242},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.44

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.32 × 0.4 = 0.13
M · momentum0.57 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.