Inequality in the Social Mind
Social Comparison and Support for Redistribution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6388232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Meghan Condon (0000-0001-8764-2249, Loyola University Chicago), Amber Wichowsky (0000-0002-9590-9457, Marquette University) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 149-161 |
| Publication date | 2020-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3816 • E-ISSN: 1468-2508 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/705686 |
| OpenAlex | W2964683051 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 55 |
| References cited | 55 |
Income inequality is fundamentally relational in nature, but research on the American public’s response to it tends to examine individuals in isolation, concluding that support for redistribution is unresponsive to inequality. We focus instead on perceptions of relative socioeconomic position, which we manipulate experimentally through imagined social interactions with high- or low-status others. We find that subjects who make social comparisons between themselves and someone who is socioeconomically advantaged perceive their own status as lower, assess their own socioeconomic status more accurately, and become more supportive of social welfare spending, even though we provide no factual information about the income distribution to subjects in the experiment. Our findings demonstrate that Americans respond with support for redistribution when conditions facilitate upward social comparison. We argue for a shift in scholarly attention to the structural factors that keep rising upper-tail inequality socially invisible
Demographic economics · Economic inequality · Economics · Income distribution · Inequality · Microeconomics · Perception · Political science · Population · Public good · Redistribution (election · Redistribution of income and wealth · Social inequality · Social isolation · Social position · Social relation · Social science · Social status · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Welfare · Demography · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Unequal Democracies
When and why is economic inequality seen as fair
Trust and needles
Subjective Inequity Aversion
The perception of economic inequality in everyday life
Learning from contact with poorer (richer) others? Perceived unfairness, prospect of upward mobility, and preferences for taxing the rich
School bullying is positively associated with support for redistribution in adulthood
Perception of economic inequality
Lottocracy and class‐specific political institutions
Changing attitudes toward redistribution
Personal Relative Deprivation, Not Subjective Status, Explains Support for Economic Redistribution
Catalysts and buffers
The comparative political economy of inequality
Changes in the Justification of Educational Inequalities
Politics of Boundary Consolidation
Knowing one’s place? The role of income inequality in shaping positioning bias across 29 countries
A Matter of Solidarity
The strongman phenomenon
Economic Voting and Electoral Behavior in 2024 European Parliament Elections
The Size and Structure of the Gender Gap in Economic Evaluations
Rising inequality
The erosion of democracy in an age of wealth inequality
On the ambivalence of preferences for income redistribution
I choose to be powerful
Fairness Matters
Class-based network segregation, economic inequality, and redistributive preferences across societies
Happiness Scholarship and Redistributive Preferences
Observed without Sympathy
Fairness and Tax Morale in Developing Countries
Social Limits to Spending
Does income transparency affect support for redistribution? Evidence from Finland’s tax day
The grass is always greener on the other side
The ISSP 2019 Social Inequality Module
In‐group bias in preferences for redistribution
Keeping up with the Joneses? Perceptions of mobility and opportunity within local knowledge economies across Germany
Social sampling shapes preferences for redistribution
Positional Deprivation and Support for Redistribution and Social Insurance in Europe
Facts in Context
Mobility patterns predict increasing polarization between neighborhoods
Naeronambul
Did low-income essential workers during Covid-19 increase public support for redistribution
Perceived Levels of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life Increase Citizens Willingness to Engage in Collective Action
Fairness of inequality and support for redistribution
Who Is High Income, Anyway? Social Comparison, Subjective Group Identification, and Preferences over Progressive Taxation
Inequality Federalism and Economic Self-Interest in Subnational Progressive Tax Politics
Millionaire Justices and Attitudes Towards the Supreme Court
Alarmed but Unmoved
Does Relative Deprivation Condition the Effects of Social Protection Programs on Political Support? Experimental Evidence from Pakistan
Immigration Attitudes and White Americans’ Responsiveness to Rising Income Inequality
Perceived Economic Inequality Measures and Their Association With Objective Inequality and Redistributive Preferences
Greed, Envy, and Admiration
Repertoires of Comparison
The Power of Diversity
How Information about Inequality Impacts Belief in Meritocracy
Inequality Belief Systems
Relative deprivation and social justice
American exceptionalism
Dangerous Frames
Social Class, Contextualism, and Empathic Accuracy
Inequality and the Measurement of Residential Segregation by Income in American Neighborhoods
The Graphical Presentation of a Collection of Means
Exposure to inequality affects support for redistribution
Individual welfare, majority voting, and the properties of a linear income tax
Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior
Subjective Status Shapes Political Preferences
The Explanatory and Predictive Scope of Self-Efficacy Theory
Skills, education, and the rise of earnings inequality among the “other 99 percent”
Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning
Relative Deprivation
Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations
Human groups and social categories
The Dignity of Working Men
Pressure groups and redistribution
The Undeserving Rich
Biased perceptions of income distribution and preferences for redistribution
The Politics of Resentment
The Social Self
Richer (and Holier) Than Thou? The Effect of Relative Income Improvements on Demand for Redistribution
Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies
Anxiety Reduces Empathy Toward Outgroup Members But Not Ingroup Members
It Could Be Worse
A Rational Theory of the Size of Government
Income Segregation Between Schools and School Districts
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
The Political Culture of Ambivalence
The Two Facets of Social Policy Preferences
Class Isolation and Affluent Americans’ Perception of Social Conditions
Americans' Social Policy Preferences in the Era of Rising Inequality
The Politics of Disgust
Schooling as a Formative Political Experience
When Multiplication Doesn't Equal Quick Addition
Voice and Inequality
Inequality and the Dynamics of Public Opinion
Inequality, Labor Market Segmentation, and Preferences for Redistribution
Social comparison in everyday life
A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation
Having less, giving more
Educational Homogamy in Two Gilded Ages
"Fair" Inequality? Attitudes toward Pay Differentials
Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes
Inequality in Children's Contexts
Downward comparison principles in social psychology
Inequality, public opinion and redistribution
The Structure of Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution
The Study of Boundaries in the Social Sciences
Income Inequality and Income Segregation
Is the significance of race declining in the political arena? Yes, and no
| Unique citing works | 55 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9,17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 55 |