This paper outlines a procedure for detecting context-based constraints in social perception. Specifically, this research examines how formal organizational structure can impact informants' reports of social relations. Twenty-three personnel from a regional accounting firm were asked to report their social relations. Observations of the individuals' interactions also were collected as an independent measurement source. Comparisons of the perceptual data with the formal organizational structure show reciprocated reports are significantly correlated with status similarity. Individuals who share the same rank in the organizational hierarchy mutually name one another to a greater extent than those in different ranks. Unreciprocated reports that are not observed are explained by the hierarchical nature of the status structure in that individuals of lower status tend to report ties with those in higher statuses but not vice versa. Unreciprocated reports of interaction that are observed, however, are not associated with the organizational structure. Instead, they are explained by differences in the size of informants' networks. Individuals with large networks tend to name ties that are not reciprocated. Apparently, in contexts where positional differences are pronounced, status is one of the main influences in social perception.