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Sainz M, Martínez R, Matamoros-Lima J, Moya M, Rodríguez-Bailón R. Perceived economic inequality enlarges the perceived humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic status groups. THE JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 164:704-717. [PMID: 36545818 DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2022.2157699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we analyze the influence of the perceived level of economic inequality in daily life on people's recognition of the perceived humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic groups within society. To achieve this purpose, in Studies 1A-B, we analyzed the relationship between economic inequality and the humanity gap. In Studies 2A-B, we manipulated the level of inequality (low vs. high) to identify differences in the humanity gap. Results indicated that higher perceptions of economic inequality lead individuals to recognize a wider humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic groups in society. Implications are discussed.
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Sánchez-Rodríguez Á, García-Sánchez E, Willis GB, Rodríguez-Bailón R. Individual values predict desiring more economic inequality: The moderator role of social mobility. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 59:398-409. [PMID: 38293817 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.13114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Attitudes towards economic inequality are crucial to uphold structural economic inequality in democratic societies. Previous research has shown that socioeconomic status, political ideology, and the objective level of economic inequality associated with individuals' attitudes towards economic inequality. However, some have suggested that people are aware of the individual and social features that are more functional according to the level of economic inequality. Therefore, individual predispositions such as cultural values could also predict these attitudes. In the current research, we expand previous results testing whether cultural variables at the individual level predict attitudes towards economic inequality. After analysing survey data including samples from 52 countries (N = 89,565), we found that self-enhancement values predict positively, and self-transcendence negatively, attitudes towards economic inequality as the ideal economic inequality measures. This result remained significant even after controlling by socioeconomic status, political ideology, and objective economic inequality. However, this effect is only true in high and middle social mobility countries, but not in countries with low social mobility. The present research highlights how cultural values and country social mobility are crucial factors to addressing attitudes towards economic inequality.
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Liu Z, Sun X, Bao R, Ma R. Why do people always want more? Perceived economic inequality leads people to be greedy by enhancing relative deprivation. Br J Psychol 2024. [PMID: 38635309 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Greedy phenomena have dramatically increased in societies. However, despite the universality of greedy behaviour, empirical research on the causes of greed is scarce. In this context, we propose that perceived economic inequality may be an important factor influencing greed. Study 1 provided primary evidence of a positive relationship between perceived economic inequality and greed, based on data from a large-scale social survey (CFPS 2018, N = 14,317). Employing well-established questionnaires, Study 2A (N = 200) and Study 2B (N = 399) revealed that perceived economic inequality positively predicts greed, with relative deprivation playing a mediating role. Study 3A (N = 200) and Study 3B (N = 200) manipulated perceived economic inequality to provide causal evidence of its effects on greed and to replicate the mediating effect of relative deprivation. Finally, Study 4 (N = 372), using a blockage manipulation design, showed that the effect of perceived economic inequality on greed significantly decreases when relative deprivation is suppressed. In summary, the results of these six studies consistently suggest that perceived economic inequality positively affects greed and that this effect is mediated by relative deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenzhen Liu
- School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Xiaomin Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruiji Bao
- Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China
| | - Rongzi Ma
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Cheng L, Wang X, Jetten J, Klebl C, Li Z, Wang F. Subjective economic inequality evokes interpersonal objectification. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38520243 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Interpersonal objectification, treating people as tools and neglecting their essential humanness, is a pervasive and enduring phenomenon. Across five studies (N = 1183), we examined whether subjective economic inequality increases objectification through a calculative mindset. Study 1 revealed that the perceptions of economic inequality at the national level and in daily life were positively associated with objectification. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated a causal relationship between subjective economic inequality and objectification in a fictitious organization and society, respectively. Moreover, the effect was mediated by a calculative mindset (Studies 3-4). In addition, lowering a calculative mindset weakened the effect of subjective inequality on objectification (Study 4). Finally, increased objectification due to subjective inequality further decreased prosociality and enhanced exploitative intentions (Study 5). Taken together, our findings suggest that subjective economic inequality increases objectification, which further causes adverse interpersonal interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Cheng
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xijing Wang
- College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Jolanda Jetten
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Christoph Klebl
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Zifei Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Du H, Götz FM, King RB, Rentfrow PJ. The psychological imprint of inequality: Economic inequality shapes achievement and power values in human life. J Pers 2024; 92:222-242. [PMID: 35866366 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This research investigates how economic inequality shapes basic human values across three cross-national, cross-regional, and longitudinal studies (Ntotal = 219,697). METHODS Study 1 examined the relationship between objective economic inequality and values across 77 societies from all five continents (n = 170,525). Study 2 examined the relationship between objective economic inequality and values across 51 regions in the United States (n = 48,559). Study 3 used a two-year longitudinal design to examine the relationship between perceived economic inequality and values (n = 613). RESULTS Results from multilevel modeling and longitudinal analysis suggested that people who lived in areas with higher economic inequality and who perceived higher economic inequality were more likely to endorse achievement and power values. Moreover, people who perceived higher economic inequality were less likely to endorse benevolence values. These effects were robust in within-country tests (Studies 2 and 3) but not in the cross-country tests (Study 1) when accounting for sociodemographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that economic inequality may act as an antecedent of self-enhancement values, particularly within countries. In a world of rising economic inequality, this may over time lead to an overemphasis on achievement and power which have been shown to erode social cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongfei Du
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Friedrich M Götz
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Ronnel B King
- Faculty of Education, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Peter J Rentfrow
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Li S, Fu X, Zhang M, Fu R, Zhang M, Kou Y. Effect of economic inequality on generosity: A social norm perspective. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 38043922 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.13096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Economic inequality has been found to reduce individuals' generosity in western contexts. However, whether this effect is cross-culturally consistent and its internal mechanism remain unclear, as well as how to mitigate this impact. Hence, we explored whether and why economic inequality may erode generosity in a sample of Chinese adults from the social norm perspective and introduced the equal allocation norm to mitigate this effect. Four online studies were conducted: two were correlational (Study 1: n = 300; Study 2: n = 568) and two were experimental (Study 3: n = 289; Study 4: n = 500). Results showed that economic inequality predicted less generosity in the dictator game, and perceived unequal allocation norm accounted for this effect. Moreover, introducing the equal allocation norm could buffer this negative effect. Findings suggest economic inequality impairs generosity, and making the equal allocation norm more salient may guide people to act more generously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxian Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Xinyuan Fu
- Department of Psychology, School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Mengyuan Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Ruoran Fu
- Department of Psychology, School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Mei Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Yu Kou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Davidai S. Economic Inequality Fosters the Belief That Success Is Zero-Sum. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231206428. [PMID: 37965735 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231206428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Ten studies (N = 3,628; including five pre-registered), using correlational and experimental methods and employing various measures and manipulations, reveal that perceived economic inequality fosters zero-sum beliefs about economic success-the belief that one person's gains are inevitably offset by others' losses. As the gap between the rich and the poor expands, American participants increasingly believed that one can only get richer at others' expense. Moreover, perceptions of economic inequality fostered zero-sum beliefs even when the distribution of resources was not strictly zero-sum and did so beyond the effect of various demographics variables (household income, education, subjective socioeconomic status) and individual differences (political ideology, social dominance orientation, interpersonal trust). Finally, I find that zero-sum beliefs account for the effect of inequality on people's view of the world as unjust. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of zero-sum beliefs about economic success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shai Davidai
- Columbia University in the City of New York, USA
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Velandia-Morales A, Rodríguez-Bailón R, Martínez R. Normative effect of economic inequality: empirical evidence about conspicuous consumption ( Efecto normativo de la desigualdad económica: evidencias empíricas sobre el consumo conspicuo). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/02134748.2023.2181611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
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Peters K, Jetten J. How living in economically unequal societies shapes our minds and our social lives. Br J Psychol 2023; 114:515-531. [PMID: 36708128 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, the economies of many countries have produced increasingly unequal outcomes for the rich and poor. This economic trend has attracted interest from members of the media, public and political classes as well as researchers who are interested in its societal implications. While this research has traditionally been the purview of economists and sociologists, there has been a burgeoning growth in research that has sought to understand the psychology of economic inequality. In this review, we summarize this work, focusing on two major themes: (1) how people perceive the scale of economic inequality and appraise its significance, and (2) how living in an economically unequal environment shapes people's social lives. Together, this work affirms claims that economic inequality is 'the defining issue of our time' (Obama, 2013) with a great deal of destructive potential. We identify important questions that await further research attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Peters
- University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jolanda Jetten
- University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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Sánchez-Rodríguez Á, Rodríguez-Bailón R, Willis GB. The economic inequality as normative information model (EINIM). EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2022.2160555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Guillermo B. Willis
- Centro de Investigación Mente Cerebro y Comportamiento (CIMCYC), Granada, Spain
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Resource Scarcity Predicts Women’s Intrasexual Competition: The Role of Trait and State Envy. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-022-00344-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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12
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Moreno-Bella E, Kulich C, Willis GB, Moya M. What about diversity? The effect of organizational economic inequality on the perceived presence of women and ethnic minority groups. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271356. [PMID: 35976867 PMCID: PMC9384987 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Economic inequality shapes the degree to which people and different social groups are perceived in stereotypical ways. Our research sought to investigate the impact of the perception of economic inequality in an organizational setting on expectations of social diversity in the organization's workforce, across the dimensions of gender and ethnicity. Combining data from previous experiments, we first explored in one set of studies (Studies 1a and 1b; N = 378) whether the degree of economic inequality in a fictitious organization affected participants' expectations of the representation of minority vs. majority group employees. We found that when we presented an organization with unequal (vs. equal) distribution of economic wealth amongst its employees to study participants, they expected the presence of men and White majority individuals to be larger than the presence of women and ethnic minorities. Second, we tested our hypotheses and replicated these initial effects in a pre-registered study (Study 2: N = 449). Moreover, we explored the potential mediating role of perceived diversity climate, that is, the perception that the organization promotes and deals well with demographic diversity. Findings revealed that an organizational setting that distributed resources unequally (vs. equally) was associated with a more adverse diversity climate, which, in turn, correlated with expectations of a lower presence of minority group employees in the organization. We concluded that economic inequality creates a context that modulates perceptions of a climate of social exclusion which likely affects the possibilities for members of disadvantaged groups to participate and develop in organizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Moreno-Bella
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
- Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Clara Kulich
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Guillermo B. Willis
- Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Moya
- Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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13
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del Fresno‐Díaz Á, Estevan‐Reina L, Sánchez‐Rodríguez Á, Willis GB, de Lemus S. Fighting inequalities in times of pandemic: The role of politicized identities and interdependent self-construal in coping with economic threat. JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 33:CASP2632. [PMID: 35942156 PMCID: PMC9349427 DOI: 10.1002/casp.2632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions encouraged social isolation and non-interaction with other people to prevent contagion. Still, the response to an impending economic crisis must be through the collective organization. In this set of pre-registered studies, we analyse two possible mechanisms of coping with collective economic threats: shared social identity and interdependent self-construction. We conducted three correlational studies during the pandemic in May-October 2020 (Study 1, N = 363; Study 2, N = 250; Study 3, N = 416). Results show that shared identity at two levels of politicization (i.e., working-class and 99% identities) and interdependent self-construal mediated the relationship between collective economic threat, intolerance towards economic inequality and collective actions to reduce it. The results highlight that the collective economic threat can reinforce the sense of community-either through the activation of a politicized collective identity, such as the working class or the 99% or through the activation of an interdependent self-which in turn can trigger greater involvement in the fight against economic inequality. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucía Estevan‐Reina
- Department of Social PsychologyUniversity of GranadaGranadaSpain
- Institute of PsychologyJagiellonian UniversityKrakówPoland
| | | | | | - Soledad de Lemus
- Department of Social PsychologyUniversity of GranadaGranadaSpain
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14
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Moreno-Bella E, Willis GB, Quiroga-Garza A, Moya M. Economic inequality shapes the agency–communion content of gender stereotypes. GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/13684302221095338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Economic inequality is a main issue in current societies, and it affects people’s psychological processes. In this research, we propose that perceived economic inequality might affect how people perceive men and women. In two experiments carried out in Spain ( N = 170) and Mexico ( N = 215), we tested whether high (vs. low) economic inequality leads to changes in the perceived agency and communion of both men and women. Our findings suggest that when economic inequality is high (vs. low), the communal content in social perceptions of both men and women decreases. Specifically, under high (vs. low) inequality, the difference in agency and communion ascribed to a man becomes greater (i.e., men are perceived as even more agentic than communal), whereas this difference becomes smaller for women (i.e., women are still perceived as more communal than agentic, but this difference is smaller). We discuss these findings’ implications regarding the psychosocial effects of economic inequality.
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15
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Sánchez‐Rodríguez Á, Moreno‐Bella E. Are you interested in economic inequality? Depends on where you live. ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ajsp.12458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eva Moreno‐Bella
- Department of Social Psychology University of Granada Granada Spain
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16
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García-Castro JD, González R, Frigolett C, Jiménez-Moya G, Rodríguez-Bailón R, Willis G. Changing attitudes toward redistribution: The role of perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality. The Journal of Social Psychology 2022; 163:566-581. [PMID: 34978955 DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2021.2006126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Modern societies are characterized by economic inequality. Redistributive policies are one of the means to reduce it. We argue that perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of it are central factors to enhance positive attitudes toward redistribution. To test it, we conducted a four-wave longitudinal panel study in Chile with a sample of 1221 college students (at T1 - baseline, 960 at T2, 926 at T3, and 787 at T4; Mage = 18.89). As expected, a cross-lagged longitudinal analysis controlled by household income confirmed a positive relationship between perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality, which in turn was positively associated with support for redistributive policies. These results were stable and consistent over time, supporting the idea that perceived economic inequality in everyday life enhances positive attitudes toward redistribution by increasing intolerance of it. Results highlight the important role played by perceived inequality in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Diego García-Castro
- Universidad de Costa Rica, Sede de Occidente, San Ramón.,Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social (COES)
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17
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Du H, King RB. What predicts perceived economic inequality? The roles of actual inequality, system justification, and fairness considerations. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 61:19-36. [PMID: 34057748 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Past studies have mostly focused on investigating actual economic inequality with less work devoted to understanding perceived economic inequality and its antecedents. However, numerous studies have shown that perceived inequality is a strong predictor of psychological, political, and social outcomes and hence is an important outcome in and of itself. This paper aims to identify the socioecological (i.e., actual inequality) and psychological (legitimation and fairness considerations) antecedents of perceived economic inequality. We hypothesized that individuals who legitimized income inequality would perceive less inequality, whereas individuals who experienced unfairness engendered by income inequality would perceive more inequality. We utilized a nationally representative sample in China (N = 33,600 respondents nested within 25 provinces) and conducted multilevel longitudinal analyses to test our hypotheses. In line with our predictions, we found that legitimation of inequality was associated with less perceived inequality six years later, whereas unfairness was associated with more perceived inequality six years later. In addition, we found that in more unequal areas, people perceived less income inequality. These longitudinal effects were robust when controlling for prior years of perceived inequality, economic development, and sociodemographic factors. Findings have implications for system justification and economic inequality theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongfei Du
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, China
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