Subjective social class and life satisfaction: Role of class consistency and identity uncertainty

Abstract

Drawing on a recent perspective that inconsistent class identities can negatively impact psychological outcomes, the current research explored if the relative benefit of higher subjective social class for life satisfaction would differ depending on whether it is consistent with one’s objective social class. In Study 1, across two independent samples from Singapore (n = 1,045) and the United States (n = 492), higher subjective social class predicted higher life satisfaction more strongly among those high in objective social class, but less strongly among those low in objective social class. In Study 2, these patterns were replicated in another large U.S. sample (n = 1,030), and appeared to be driven by lower status‐based identity uncertainty linked to higher subjective social class perceptions among high objective social class participants. The role of class‐identity perceptions in explaining social class disparities in subjective well‐being is discussed.