A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

Porntida TANJITPIYANOND; Jolanda JETTEN; Kim PETERS; Ashwini ASHOKKUMAR; Oumar BARRY; Matthew BILLET; Maja BECKER; Robert W. BOOTH; Diego CASTRO; Juana CHINCHILLA; Giulio COSTANTINI; Egon DEJONCKHEERE; Girts DIMDINS; Yasemin ERBAS; Agustín ESPINOSA; Gillian FINCHILESCU; Ángel GÓMEZ; Roberto GONZÁLEZ; Nobuhiko GOTO; Aya HATANO; Lea HARTWICH; Somboon JARUKASEMTHAWEE; Jaya Kumar KARUNAGHARAN; Lindsay M. NOVAK; Jinseok P. KIM; Michal KOHÚT; Yi LIU; Steve LOUGHNAN; Ike E. ONYISHI; Charity N. ONYISHI; Micaela VARELA; Iris S. PATTARA-ANGKOON; Müjde PEKER; Kullaya PISITSUNGKAGARN; Muhammad RIZWAN; Eunkook M. SUH; William SWANN; Eddie M. W. TONG; Rhiannon N. TURNER; Niels VANHASBROECK; Paul A. M. VAN LANGE; Christin‐melanie VAUCLAIR; Alexander VINOGRADOV; Grace WACERA; Zhechen WANG; Susilo WIBISONO; Victoria Wai‐Lan YEUNG

doi:10.1002/ejsp.2908

A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

Porntida TANJITPIYANOND^*, Jolanda JETTEN, Kim PETERS, Ashwini ASHOKKUMAR, Oumar BARRY, Matthew BILLET, Maja BECKER, Robert W. BOOTH, Diego CASTRO, Juana CHINCHILLA, Giulio COSTANTINI, Egon DEJONCKHEERE, Girts DIMDINS, Yasemin ERBAS, Agustín ESPINOSA, Gillian FINCHILESCU, Ángel GÓMEZ, Roberto GONZÁLEZ, Nobuhiko GOTO, Aya HATANOLea HARTWICH, Somboon JARUKASEMTHAWEE, Jaya Kumar KARUNAGHARAN, Lindsay M. NOVAK, Jinseok P. KIM, Michal KOHÚT, Yi LIU, Steve LOUGHNAN, Ike E. ONYISHI, Charity N. ONYISHI, Micaela VARELA, Iris S. PATTARA-ANGKOON, Müjde PEKER, Kullaya PISITSUNGKAGARN, Muhammad RIZWAN, Eunkook M. SUH, William SWANN, Eddie M. W. TONG, Rhiannon N. TURNER, Niels VANHASBROECK, Paul A. M. VAN LANGE, Christin‐melanie VAUCLAIR, Alexander VINOGRADOV, Grace WACERA, Zhechen WANG, Susilo WIBISONO, Victoria Wai‐Lan YEUNG

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Applied Psychology

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	367-382
Number of pages	16
Journal	European Journal of Social Psychology
Volume	53
Issue number	2
Early online date	8 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2908
Publication status	Published - Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063).

Funding Information:
This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063). Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley – The University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

cross-culture
economic inequality
social class
stereotyping

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1002/ejsp.2908Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.2908

Cite this

TANJITPIYANOND, P., JETTEN, J., PETERS, K., ASHOKKUMAR, A., BARRY, O., BILLET, M., BECKER, M., BOOTH, R. W., CASTRO, D., CHINCHILLA, J., COSTANTINI, G., DEJONCKHEERE, E., DIMDINS, G., ERBAS, Y., ESPINOSA, A., FINCHILESCU, G., GÓMEZ, Á., GONZÁLEZ, R., GOTO, N., ... YEUNG, V. WL. (2023). A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping. European Journal of Social Psychology, 53(2), 367-382. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2908

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title = "A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping",

abstract = "There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.",

keywords = "cross-culture, economic inequality, social class, stereotyping",

author = "Porntida TANJITPIYANOND and Jolanda JETTEN and Kim PETERS and Ashwini ASHOKKUMAR and Oumar BARRY and Matthew BILLET and Maja BECKER and BOOTH, {Robert W.} and Diego CASTRO and Juana CHINCHILLA and Giulio COSTANTINI and Egon DEJONCKHEERE and Girts DIMDINS and Yasemin ERBAS and Agust{\'i}n ESPINOSA and Gillian FINCHILESCU and {\'A}ngel G{\'O}MEZ and Roberto GONZ{\'A}LEZ and Nobuhiko GOTO and Aya HATANO and Lea HARTWICH and Somboon JARUKASEMTHAWEE and KARUNAGHARAN, {Jaya Kumar} and NOVAK, {Lindsay M.} and KIM, {Jinseok P.} and Michal KOH{\'U}T and Yi LIU and Steve LOUGHNAN and ONYISHI, {Ike E.} and ONYISHI, {Charity N.} and Micaela VARELA and PATTARA-ANGKOON, {Iris S.} and M{\"u}jde PEKER and Kullaya PISITSUNGKAGARN and Muhammad RIZWAN and SUH, {Eunkook M.} and William SWANN and TONG, {Eddie M. W.} and TURNER, {Rhiannon N.} and Niels VANHASBROECK and {VAN LANGE}, {Paul A. M.} and Christin‐melanie VAUCLAIR and Alexander VINOGRADOV and Grace WACERA and Zhechen WANG and Susilo WIBISONO and YEUNG, {Victoria Wai‐Lan}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063). Funding Information: This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063). Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley – The University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

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TANJITPIYANOND, P, JETTEN, J, PETERS, K, ASHOKKUMAR, A, BARRY, O, BILLET, M, BECKER, M, BOOTH, RW, CASTRO, D, CHINCHILLA, J, COSTANTINI, G, DEJONCKHEERE, E, DIMDINS, G, ERBAS, Y, ESPINOSA, A, FINCHILESCU, G, GÓMEZ, Á, GONZÁLEZ, R, GOTO, N, HATANO, A, HARTWICH, L, JARUKASEMTHAWEE, S, KARUNAGHARAN, JK, NOVAK, LM, KIM, JP, KOHÚT, M, LIU, Y, LOUGHNAN, S, ONYISHI, IE, ONYISHI, CN, VARELA, M, PATTARA-ANGKOON, IS, PEKER, M, PISITSUNGKAGARN, K, RIZWAN, M, SUH, EM, SWANN, W, TONG, EMW, TURNER, RN, VANHASBROECK, N, VAN LANGE, PAM, VAUCLAIR, C, VINOGRADOV, A, WACERA, G, WANG, Z, WIBISONO, S & YEUNG, VWL 2023, 'A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping', European Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 367-382. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2908

TY - JOUR

T1 - A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

AU - TANJITPIYANOND, Porntida

AU - JETTEN, Jolanda

AU - PETERS, Kim

AU - ASHOKKUMAR, Ashwini

AU - BARRY, Oumar

AU - BILLET, Matthew

AU - BECKER, Maja

AU - BOOTH, Robert W.

AU - CASTRO, Diego

AU - CHINCHILLA, Juana

AU - COSTANTINI, Giulio

AU - DEJONCKHEERE, Egon

AU - DIMDINS, Girts

AU - ERBAS, Yasemin

AU - ESPINOSA, Agustín

AU - FINCHILESCU, Gillian

AU - GÓMEZ, Ángel

AU - GONZÁLEZ, Roberto

AU - GOTO, Nobuhiko

AU - HATANO, Aya

AU - HARTWICH, Lea

AU - JARUKASEMTHAWEE, Somboon

AU - KARUNAGHARAN, Jaya Kumar

AU - NOVAK, Lindsay M.

AU - KIM, Jinseok P.

AU - KOHÚT, Michal

AU - LIU, Yi

AU - LOUGHNAN, Steve

AU - ONYISHI, Ike E.

AU - ONYISHI, Charity N.

AU - VARELA, Micaela

AU - PATTARA-ANGKOON, Iris S.

AU - PEKER, Müjde

AU - PISITSUNGKAGARN, Kullaya

AU - RIZWAN, Muhammad

AU - SUH, Eunkook M.

AU - SWANN, William

AU - TONG, Eddie M. W.

AU - TURNER, Rhiannon N.

AU - VANHASBROECK, Niels

AU - VAN LANGE, Paul A. M.

AU - VAUCLAIR, Christin‐melanie

AU - VINOGRADOV, Alexander

AU - WACERA, Grace

AU - WANG, Zhechen

AU - WIBISONO, Susilo

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai‐Lan

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063). Funding Information: This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP170101008), by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAL 15130009), by the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP #15110006), and a JSPS KAKENHI grant (19KK0063). Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley – The University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2023/3

Y1 - 2023/3

N2 - There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.

AB - There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.

KW - cross-culture

KW - economic inequality

KW - social class

KW - stereotyping

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U2 - 10.1002/ejsp.2908

DO - 10.1002/ejsp.2908

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 0046-2772

VL - 53

SP - 367

EP - 382

JO - European Journal of Social Psychology

JF - European Journal of Social Psychology

IS - 2

ER -

A 32‐society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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