Abstract
The protracted COVID-19 crisis provides a new social niche in which new inequalities can emerge. We provide predictions about one such new inequality using the logic of Status Construction Theory (SCT). SCT, rooted in Expectations State Theory and from there developed by Ridgeway and colleagues, proposes general hypotheses about how new inequalities arise through process of interaction at the individual level: an unordered categorical difference becomes attached to a cultural value that gives one category more value than the other; social scripts concerning it emerge; small elements of assertion and deference creep into more and more encounters that an individual participates in, hears about through networks, and learns about via social and conventional media. The categorical difference begins to morph into a hierarchical status distinction. Through these mechanisms, individuals develop “status beliefs” that most people in their communities endorse the status distinction. Although they may or may not endorse the distinction personally, they believe that most people do so and they find that the path of least resistance socially is to enact the scripts that affirm the higher status/prestige of the favored group. We apply Status Construction Theory to the categorical difference between Antibody Positives (who have been tested for IgG antibodies) and Others (everybody else). Using the general logic of SCT and specifically developing applications of its key propositions, we predict that the categorical difference between Antibody Positives and Others will transition to a status distinction and propose testable, falsifiable hypotheses about each step of the process.
Highlights
COVID-19 and the Potential Emergence of New InequalitiesThe COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 unleashed the Grim Reaper to slash his way across the globe and the infectious nature of the disease has pervasively disrupted the ordinary micro-encounters of which social life was built
that the conceptual model adds in background variables
The theory was developed in experimental settings so control variables were
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 unleashed the Grim Reaper to slash his way across the globe and the infectious nature of the disease has pervasively disrupted the ordinary micro-encounters of which social life was built. Applying Status Construction Theory to the COVID-19 crisis implies that, during the course of the epidemic, people who test positive for IgG antibodies (showing that they have been infected, recovered, and so are immune at least for some time and no danger to themselves or to others—“Antibody Positives” as we will call them), will emerge as a higher status group compared to Others who lack proof that they belong to the favored group, barring the several conditions discussed below that would derail the process This has a strangely ironic flavor because people who “do all the right things” and socially distance rigorously are less likely to get COVID-19, less likely to be have the IgG antibodies, and according to the theory, will find themselves in the lower status group on this distinction!.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
