“We are the 99%”: Exploring the impact of politicized wealth-based identity on the established middle-class

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Occupy Wall Street movement popularized the slogan “we are the 99%” to highlight economic disparities. In this studies, we investigated the impact of the 99% identity on middle-class attitudes and collective action intentions. Conducting two correlational studies (Study 1, N = 374; Study 2, N = 344) and two experimental studies (Study 3, N = 336; Study 4, N = 127), we found that 99% identity correlated with greater intolerance of economic inequality and stronger intentions for collective action than middle-class identity. These findings were replicated and extended in Studies 3–4 by two experiments. Indirectly, social norms were associated with inequality intolerance and collective actions through identification with the 99%, but no direct effect was found, Overall, identifying with the 99% is associated with middle-class mobilisation against economic inequality.