Highlighting Opportunities (Versus Outcomes) Increases Support for Economic Redistribution

Abstract

High levels of economic inequality are associated with numerous negative individual and societal consequences, and people prefer less of it. Opposition to redistributive policies designed to reduce inequality (e.g., taxing the rich to assist the poor), however, remains persistent. In this research, we propose a simple intervention to boost support for such policies. Specifically, we suggest that describing inequality between babies (in rich or poor homes) makes unequal opportunities more salient than describing inequality between adults. Because unequal opportunities are more difficult to rationalize than unequal outcomes, this results in a shift away from individualistic attributions and toward structural attributions for inequality. Critically, structural problems require structural solutions (e.g., redistributive efforts). We test this account across five preregistered studies ( N = 5,800), spanning various presentation modalities (e.g., visual depictions, written descriptions), demographics (e.g., race, gender), inequality-reducing policies (e.g., taxation, food stamps), and a consequential choice underscoring implications for donation behavior.