Previous research has identified that both low‐ and high‐socio‐economic groups tend to be dehumanized. However, groups that have a deprived position are more willing to interiorize the negative ...perceptions that others have about them compared with affluent groups. In this project, we address the role of meta‐(de)humanization (the perceived humanity one thinks is ascribed or denied to one’s group) based on socio‐economic status differences and its influence in the perceived psychological well‐being. We conducted two studies: In Study 1 (correlational, N = 990), we analysed the relationship between socio‐economic status, meta‐dehumanization, and well‐being. Results indicated that lower socio‐economic status positively predicted more meta‐dehumanization and worse well‐being. Moreover, meta‐dehumanization mediated the relationship between socio‐economic status and well‐being. In Study 2 (experimental, N = 354), we manipulated socio‐economic status (low‐, middle‐, and high‐socio‐economic status conditions) to evaluate its influence on meta‐dehumanization and well‐being. Results indicated that individuals of low (vs. higher)‐socio‐economic status perceived more meta‐dehumanization and reported worse well‐being. Finally, a multicategorical mediational analysis indicated that low (vs. middle or high)‐socio‐economic status led to worse well‐being through higher perceived meta‐dehumanization. We discuss differences in perceived meta‐(de)humanization based on groups’ socio‐economic status and implications on the population’s well‐being.
In addition to the negative effects of economic inequality on a range of health and social outcomes, we propose that inequality should also affect how people perceive the broader normative climate in ...society. We predicted that people living in a more unequal (vs. equal) society are more likely to appraise the social context as one where individualism determines people's behavior. We tested this idea in three experiments by manipulating the degree of economic inequality in a fictional society. We showed that, compared to the low‐inequality condition, participants in the high‐inequality condition were more likely to project individualistic norms onto society. Furthermore, Experiments 2 and 3 showed that in the high‐ (vs. low‐) economic‐inequality condition, participants inferred more competition and less cooperation between people. Our results are discussed in light of the importance of the perception of a broader normative climate to explain the consequences of economic inequality.
Status anxiety theory posits that higher income inequality leads people to attribute more importance to their socioeconomic status and to worry about the position they occupy on the social ladder. We ...investigated through two experimental studies (N = 1117) the causal effect of economic inequality on status anxiety and whether expected upward and downward mobility mediates this effect. In Study 1, perceived economic inequality indirectly increased status anxiety through lesser expected upward mobility. In Study 2, perceived economic inequality decreased both expected upward and downward mobility, with opposite indirect effects on status anxiety. This suggests that the relationship between inequality and status anxiety is not straightforward, and could implicate the presence of multiple processes working at the same time—whereas lower expected downward mobility could suppress the effect of inequality, lower expected upward mobility could exacerbate it.
Although economic inequality has increased over the last few decades, support for redistributive policies is not widely accepted by the public. In this paper, we examine whether attitudes towards ...redistribution are a product of both perceptions of, and beliefs about, inequality. Specifically, we argue that the association between perceived inequality and support for redistribution varies by beliefs that justify inequality. We investigated this hypothesis in a cross‐cultural/country sample (N = 56,021 from 41 countries) using two different operationalizations of support for redistribution and two distinct beliefs that justify inequality. As hypothesized, the perceived size of the income gap correlated positively with believing that it is the government's responsibility to reduce inequality among those who rejected beliefs that justify inequality, whereas there was no association for those who endorsed these beliefs. Similarly, perceived economic inequality correlated positively with support for progressive taxation, but this association was weaker among those who endorsed meritocratic and equal opportunity beliefs. Together, these results demonstrate that ideologies influence the relationship between perceived inequality and attitudes towards redistribution, and that support for redistribution varies by how the policy is framed.
Differences between groups in socio‐economic status (SES) are becoming more salient nowadays. In this context, we examined the animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization that both low and high‐SES ...groups may experience respectively by conducting three studies. In study 1, we manipulated the SES of two fictitious groups (low vs. high‐SES) and measured the humanity ascribed to them. Results showed that the low‐SES group was animalized in comparison with the high‐SES group, which was mechanized. In study 2, we manipulated the humanity of two fictitious groups by describing them as animals or machines and measured the perceived SES of the groups. Participants tended to attribute lower SES to the group described as animals and higher SES to the group described as machines. Finally, in study 3, we used an Implicit Association Test to replicate the results of studies 1 and 2. Taken together, these studies show that low‐SES groups are considered as animal‐like whereas high‐SES groups are seen as robot‐like. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to the justification of income inequality within our society.
Status anxiety, the constant concern about individuals’ position on the social ladder, negatively affects social cohesion, health, and wellbeing (e.g., chronic stress). Given previous findings ...showing that status anxiety is associated with economic inequality, we aimed in this research to test this association experimentally. A cross-sectional study (Study 1) was run in order to discard confounding effects of the relationship between perceived economic inequality (PEI) and status anxiety, and to explore the mediating role of a competitive climate (
N
= 297). Then we predicted that people assigned to a condition of high inequality would perceive more status anxiety in their social context, and they would themselves report higher status anxiety. Thus, in an experimental study (Study 2) PEI was manipulated (
N
= 200). In Study 1, PEI uniquely predicted status anxiety, and perceived competitiveness mediated the relationship. In Study 2 PEI increased perceived contextual status anxiety, a specific form of perceived competitiveness based on socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, preliminary evidence of an indirect effect was found from PEI to personal status anxiety, through (higher) perceived contextual status anxiety. These preliminary findings provide experimental evidence for the effects of economic inequality on status anxiety and the mechanism involved. Economic inequality makes people feel that they live in a society where they are constantly concerned and competing with each other for their SES. These results could have important implications as health and wellbeing could be promoted by reducing economic inequalities and the competitive and materialistic environments of our societies.
Previous research has shown that economic inequality influences how people are related with others. In this article, we suggest that perceived economic inequality influences self‐construal. ...Specifically, we propose that higher economic inequality leads to an independent self‐construal, whereas lower economic inequality leads to an interdependent self‐construal. Correlational data from Studies 1a and 1b revealed that people who perceive lower levels of economic inequality tend to show higher levels of interdependent self‐construal, even after controlling for social class. In Study 2, using an experimental design, we found that perceived high economic inequality leads to a more independent and less interdependent self‐construal compared to the low economic inequality condition. These results expand the literature bridging the gap between a macro‐social factor, such as economic inequality, and a micro‐social factor, such as self‐construal.
Expressing anger can engender desired change, but it can also backfire. In the present research we examined how power shapes the expression of anger. In Study 1, we found that powerless individuals ...were less inclined to express their anger directly but more inclined to express it indirectly by sharing it with others. Powerless participants’ reluctance to express anger directly was mediated by negative social appraisals. In Study 2, we replicated the effect of power on direct anger expression in a situation in which participants had actual power (or not). Anger was evoked in the laboratory using an ecologically valid procedure, and participants were given an opportunity to express anger. Study 3 showed that powerless participants expected direct anger expression to arouse more anger than fear in the target, whereas the opposite was true for indirect anger expression. Powerful participants always expected to elicit more fear than anger in the target.
Perceptions of gender inequality may motivate people to take action against inequality given its negative impact on various domains of people's everyday lives. Thus, it is crucial to develop reliable ...measures that consider the multidimensional nature of gender inequalities. In this research, we propose and assess the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Gender Inequality Perception Scale (MuGIPS). This is a self-reported measure of perceived gender inequality in four domains: health, violence, household work and caregiving, and public sphere and power. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the validity and reliability of the MuGIPS with Spanish participants in three samples (N = 1733). The analyses revealed that the MuGIPS had a good internal consistency and showed four factors associated with gender inequality in the four specified domains. Moreover, scores in all the dimensions positively correlated with feminist identity and feminist ideology, as much as with some attitudinal variables. In contrast, results showed a negative correlation with system-justifying ideologies. The MuGIPS shows adequate reliability and validity for measuring the perception of gender inequality in the health, violence, household work and caregiving, and public sphere and power domains among Spanish university and general population samples.
When personal control is threatened, people often turn to their own group and show negativity towards others. In three studies, we tested an alternative prediction that the salient lack of personal ...control (vs. control) experienced in the context of unemployment can lead to connectedness and more positive perception of similar others (e.g., members of groups affected by unemployment or the economic crisis). In two European countries, we found experimental (Study 1: Poland) and correlational (Study 2: Spain) evidence that a lowered sense of control of unemployed people was related to more favorable intergroup evaluations. Furthermore, when lack of control related to unemployment threat was experimentally induced, participants perceived a Greek outgroup more positively, and this effect was mediated by identification with and similarity to this group (Study 3). We discuss the role of the shared experience of collective uncontrollability in promoting positive intergroup relations.
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