Abstract
This article argues that public opinion regarding the legitimacy of income differences is influenced by actual income inequality. When income differences are (perceived to be) high, the public thinks of larger income inequality as legitimate. The phenomenon is explained by the system justification motivation and other psychological processes that advantage existing social arrangements. Three experiments show that personal experiences of inequality as well as information regarding national-level income inequality can affect which income differences are thought of as legitimate. A fourth experiment shows that the system justification motivation is a cause of this effect. These results can provide an empirical basis for future studies to assume that the public reacts to inequality with adapted expectations, not increased demands for redistribution.
Highlights
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Kris-Stella Trump e Status Quo and Perceptions of Fairness: How Income Inequality In uences Public Opinion is dissertation argues that public opinion regarding the acceptability and desirability of income differences is affected by actual income inequality
Public opinion “habituates” by adjusting expectations for fair levels of inequality in the same direction as the factual change. is adjustment effect occurs because humans are subject to status quo bias and have a motivated tendency to believe in a just world
Summary
The Status Quo and Perceptions of Fairness: How Income Inequality Influences Public Opinion. Kris-Stella Trump e Status Quo and Perceptions of Fairness: How Income Inequality In uences Public Opinion is dissertation argues that public opinion regarding the acceptability and desirability of income differences is affected by actual income inequality. A survey experiment shows that the predicted adjustment occurs for perceptions of real income inequality: survey respondents who receive information regarding true income inequality in the United States recommend larger occupational income differences as ideal than do individuals who do not receive this information. E nal chapter shows that the habituation phenomenon is affected by the motivation to think of the social system as fair: activating the system justi cation motive among Democrats reduces the otherwise robust partisan gap in ideal income inequalities to statistically insigni cant levels.
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