How Biased Perceptions of Inequality Reproduce Class Differences in Organizations

Abstract

Concerns about rising levels of economic inequality are widespread and cut across culture, political ideology, and social class. Not surprisingly then, in recent years, management research has become increasingly interested in understanding how social class and economic inequality affect organizational processes. However, extant research has tended to focus on either (a) understanding how social class shapes thought and behavior or (b) investigating how people in general rationalize inequality. In this symposium, we bring together five papers that speak to the intersection of these topics. Specifically, we examine the cognitive mechanisms (including motivation, attributions, and framing) that both bias the evaluations of others based upon their social class and shape support for policies that either reinforce or redress inequality. In so doing, they shed light on how common organizational policies and practices may in fact amplify cognitive processes that ultimately perpetuate social class and economic inequity. Together, the papers show that, while people actively desire less economic inequality, they nevertheless support mechanisms by which inequality is reproduced. By integrating research from psychological and organizational sciences, such work can deepen our understanding of barriers to addressing inequality, while helping researchers and practitioners alike identify strategies for increasing support for policies that increase socioeconomic diversity and equity in organizations. The Vicious Cycle of Social Status: Poverty, Motivation, and Redistribution Preference Presenter: Holly Engstrom; U. of British Columbia Presenter: Kristin Laurin; U. of British Columbia Inequality Blindness: Motivated Perception of Inequality and Support for Policies in Organizations Presenter: Daniela Goya-Tocchetto; Fuqua School of Business, Duke U. Presenter: Keith Payne; U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Benefitting from Blood-Lines: Perceptions of Inherited Privilege and its Transmission Over Time Presenter: Elinor Flynn; New York U. Presenter: L Taylor Phillips; NYU Stern The Consequences of Revealing First-Generational Status Presenter: Peter Belmi; U. of Virginia Presenter: Kelly Raz; Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Presenter: Margaret A. Neale; Stanford U. Presenter: Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt; Vanderbilt U. Adjusting Decisions about Low and High Performers Based on their (Dis)Advantages Presenter: David Mauricio Munguia Gomez; U. of Chicago Booth School of business Presenter: L Taylor Phillips; NYU Stern