Relational demography within groups: Past developments, contradictions, and new directions

The theory of relational demography within groups has generated considerable interest because of its importance for understanding the meaning and impact of demographic diversity within work organizations. Specifically, relational demography suggests that the more similar an individual is to a social unit in demographic characteristics, the more positive will be his/her work-related attitudes and behaviors. However, previous research has not produced a clear and consistent pattern of results supporting the idea that demographic similarity positively affects individuals' attitudes and behaviors or, conversely, that demographic dissimilarity negatively affects individuals' attitudes and behaviors. It is an appropriate time in the life cycle of relational demography research to conduct a systematic review of the literature. As such, the purposes of this chapter were to describe the theoretical foundations of relational demography, review previous research and identify contradictions, and discuss new directions for future research.