Abstract Task cues are indications of how an individual in a task group thinks they will perform at the group’s task (Berger et al. 1986). Prior research (Conner 1977; Ridgeway et al. 1985) has shown that status characteristics influence the production of task cues. Theorists have argued that task cue production is influenced by status characteristics through the formation of performance expectations (Berger et al. 1986). If this is correct, then a change in performance expectations will produce a corresponding change in task cue production. I test this argument with an experiment which alters the performance expectations of participants over the course of two task group interactions. I measure the production of a single task cue, response latency, which is the elapsed time between when a problem is presented to an individual and when the individual submits a solution to the problem. Because the experiment requires participants to make an initial and a final choice, initial and final response latencies are captured. I do not find strong support for the strict dependence argument. Individuals who begin interactions with low performance expectations for self, do take longer to respond to initial choices than individuals who begin interactions with high performance expectations. However, there is no difference in time for responses to final choices. Changing performance expectations of participants did not result in corresponding changes to response latency times.
