Solo Status

Solo status is a social psychology term, first popularized by Lord and Saenz in 1985, for the situation in which only one member of a particular social category, such as race, gender or culture, is present in a group setting. Although the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with token, solo status does not imply that a person was preferentially selected for a position because of their social category, but rather that they are the singular representative of it by mere chance or circumstance. As the only member of their category present, individuals, especially women and minorities, frequently feel a sense of responsibility to properly represent their entire category and fear perpetuating a negative stereotype, a self-censoring pressure that places a greater strain on cognitive resources and can lead to poorer task performance even without any direct reference to a stereotype and regardless of the person's education or training relative to the rest of the group.