Effects Of Social Status Research Articles

The Effects of Social Status and Culture on Delay Discounting

AbstractPeople generally tend to discount future outcomes in favor of smaller but immediate gains (i.e., delay discounting). This study examines the hypothesis that culture and social status moderate this tendency, as well as the alternative hypothesis that social status and culture influence delay discounting independently of each other. American and Japanese adults were asked to choose receiving hypothetical monetary rewards either immediately or receiving rewards of different amounts with a delay of 1 year. The results replicated previous findings and supported the alternative hypothesis. Delay discounting was lower when subjective socioeconomic status (i.e., an individual’s perception of her or his social rank) was higher. Also, the Japanese were less likely to discount future rewards than the Americans. However, there was no interaction between social status and culture in influencing the rates of delay discounting.

Reciprocity belief and gratitude as moderators of the association between social status and charitable giving

This study investigates the effect of social status on charitable giving by individuals. Based on research on economic reciprocity, two psychological mechanisms, i.e., reciprocity belief and gratitude sentiment, are proposed to explain the association between social status and charitable giving. Participants were asked to recall the nature of their money giving as it usually occurs across different types of donations. They also reported their socioeconomic status, degree of reciprocity belief, and level of gratitude. Results showed that social status significantly predicted charitable giving by individuals. As predicted, high-status participants donated more money when they held a stronger belief in reciprocity, whereas low-status participants tended to be more generous in their donations when they felt more gratitude.

Effects of Social Support and Socioeconomic Status on Mental Health in College Students

Mental Health plays a very significant role to decide the quality of life. In the present competitive scenario students feel stress and face mental illness which is becoming very severe with time. In present investigation effort has been made to ascertain the effect of Social Support and Socioeconomic Status on Mental health in College Students. A 2×3 factorial design was employed. The two factors studied were: Social Support (varied at two level high and low) and socioeconomic status (varied at three level high, middle & low). There were six cells with 30 subjects in each cell (total sample consisted of 180 subjects and age range 18-22 years). Measurement of Mental Health was furnished through Mental Health Battery developed by Arun Kumar Singh & Alpnana Sen Gupta. Social Support and Socioeconomic status was also collected by a self-made questionnaire. Result: Result of ANOVA show the main effect of Social support and Socioeconomic Status were found significant (p<.01) on total mental health scores.

The Effect of Social Economic Status and Parents’ Rearing Behavior on Social Creativity of Children in Mali

This study investigated the effect of social economic status and parents’ rearing behavior on social creativity of children in Mali. Demographic information, social creativity measure, parent behaviors measures were used. The results indicated that: (1) In the social creativity, the difference was not significant between males and females and their parenting behaviors; (2) There had significant differences of scores of social creativity, parenting behaviors among different grades; (3) Social creativity was correlated significantly and positively with home income, parents rearing, and mother’s works; (4) Grades and fa-ther’s rejection could significantly and positively predict children’s social creativity. Higher social economic status and parents’ rearing behavior help to encourage children’s social creativity.

The Effect of Discrimination on Self-rated Health among Foreign Spouses: The moderating Effects of Social Support and Subjective Social Status

The Effect of Discrimination on Self-rated Health among Foreign Spouses: The moderating Effects of Social Support and Subjective Social Status

A Cultural Model of Online Banking Adoption

Because the technology acceptance model (TAM) may not be applicable to all cultures, conducting studies from a cultural perspective to support research on the adoption of online banking can contribute to the TAM literature. A research framework based on the extended TAM is developed to examine the effects of efficacy (computer self-efficacy), social status (subjective norms) and belief variables (perceived usefulness and ease of use) on customers' adoption intentions. The effect of the interaction between the cultural value of long-term orientation and the TAM is examined. A voluntary survey involving a total of 376 potential adopters was conducted in an online banking setting in Taiwan. The results confirm previous TAM findings that both efficacy and belief variables have significantly positive direct and indirect effects on adoption, but under the cultural influence of long-term orientation, customers remain hesitant to use online banking because they are more concerned with face-to-face long-term bank relationships to ensure future gratification than with current social status.

Pengaruh Status Sosial dan Kondisi Ekonomi Keluarga terhadap Motivasi Bekerja bagi Remaja Awal (Usia 12-16 Tahun) di Kabupaten Ponorogo

In Ponorogo which is one of the districts in East Java, still have a high dropout rate. The dropout rate or children who do not continue their education to a higher level is mainly due to socio-economic status of the child. Children who do not attend school to higher levels experienced by many children completing elementary school, where the child has stepped on early teens (aged 12-16 years) who do not attend school. The preferring to work to help the economy of parents who are still below the poverty line. Children who stepped on early teens is more work in the agricultural sector and the building became a construction worker. Not a few of the young women who choose to take urbanization into town and become housemaid. The result showed that there was no significant effect of social status on work motivation early teens in Ponorogo. The influence of social status variables on work motivation is small, making it less contributed to the high-low work ethic early teens in Ponorogo. This means that the socio-economic conditions of the early teens in Ponorogo not significantly affect the work motivation early teens in Ponorogo. The second discovery was no significant effect of economic conditions on work motivation early teens in Ponorogo. This means that their economic condition is not good to have an impact on work motivation early teens in Ponorogo.

Papers of note in Science

This week’s papers report distinct signals for cell reprogramming, an effect of social status on immune responses, and a mechanism for degrading autophagosomal membranes.

Social status alters immune regulation and response to infection in macaques.

Social status is one of the strongest predictors of human disease risk and mortality, and it also influences Darwinian fitness in social mammals more generally. To understand the biological basis of these effects, we combined genomics with a social status manipulation in female rhesus macaques to investigate how status alters immune function. We demonstrate causal but largely plastic social status effects on immune cell proportions, cell type-specific gene expression levels, and the gene expression response to immune challenge. Further, we identify specific transcription factor signaling pathways that explain these differences, including low-status-associated polarization of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway toward a proinflammatory response. Our findings provide insight into the direct biological effects of social inequality on immune function, thus improving our understanding of social gradients in health.

Socioeconomic Disparities in Childhood Obesity Risk: Association With an Oxytocin Receptor Polymorphism

Pediatricians are paying increased attention to the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on children's health. Low SES is a robust predictor of obesity across the life course and may interact with genes affecting metabolism to influence obesity risk. Recent animal literature and burgeoning human research suggest that the hormone oxytocin (OT) may be important for metabolic regulation. To date, this association has not been examined in children. To examine whether an OT receptor polymorphism (rs53576) interacts with SES, potentially exacerbating and buffering the effects of stress, to predict anthropometry during childhood, and based on differential neurobiological susceptibility theory, to test whether carriers of the A allele of the OXTR gene, compared with GG genotyped individuals, would be most sensitive to the effects of SES on anthropometry for better or for worse. In this observational study, families were recruited from public school classrooms and enrolled in the Peers and Wellness Study (PAWS), which examined the effects of social status on health. Families were assessed during children's kindergarten year (fall semester of 2003, 2004, and 2005) and again during middle childhood (2009-2011) for a follow-up assessment that included anthropometric measures and DNA collection. The dates of the analysis were January 2015 to June 2016. Socioeconomic disparities. Child body mass index z score (BMIz) and triceps skinfold thickness. Family SES was collected through questionnaires mailed to homes. Body measurements and DNA were collected in homes by trained research assistants. From the original community sample of 338 typically developing children, participants were 186 socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse children (mean age, 10.3 years; age range, 9.4-11.3 years; 93 females [50%]) who had sufficient data at the follow-up assessment for inclusion in this study. Among 97 A allele carriers, a 1-SD increase in SES was associated with a decrease in BMIz of 0.28 (95% CI, -0.47 to -0.09) and a decrease in skinfold thickness of 0.95 (95% CI, -1.77 to -0.12) mm, such that they exhibited the highest BMIz and skinfold thickness in contexts of low SES but exhibited the lowest BMIz and skinfold thickness in contexts of high SES. Socioeconomic status was unrelated to BMIz (95% CI, -0.21 to 0.26) or skinfold thickness (95% CI, -0.42 to 1.45) for 89 GG genotyped children. These findings advance etiologic understanding of childhood obesity, highlighting complex effects of SES on child health and adding to growing evidence that OT relates to human obesity risk. The results also support differential neurobiological susceptibility theory, suggesting that the A allele renders individuals more sensitive to both positive and negative health effects of socioecological context.

Combined effect of educational status and cardiovascular risk factors on the incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke in European cohorts: Implications for prevention.

Background The combined effect of social status and risk factors on the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease has been insufficiently investigated, but results provide guidance on who could benefit most through prevention. Methods We followed 77,918 cardiovascular disease-free individuals aged 35-74 years at baseline, from 38 cohorts covering Nordic and Baltic countries, the UK and Central Europe, for a median of 12 years. Using Fine-Gray models in a competing-risks framework we estimated the effect of the interaction of education with smoking, blood pressure and body weight on the cumulative risk of incident acute coronary heart disease and stroke. Results Compared with more educated smokers, the less educated had an added increase in absolute risk of cardiovascular disease of 3.1% (95% confidence interval + 0.1%, +6.2%) in men and of 1.5% (-1.9%, +5.0%) in women, consistent across smoking categories. Conversely, the interaction was negative for overweight: -2.6% (95% CI: -5.6%, +0.3%) and obese: -3.6% (-7.6%, +0.4%) men, suggesting that the more educated would benefit more from the same reduction in body weight. A weaker interaction was observed for body weight in women, and for blood pressure in both genders. Less educated men and women with a cluster of two or more risk factors had an added cardiovascular disease risk of 3.6% (+0.1%, +7.0%) and of 2.6% (-0.5%, +5.6%), respectively, compared with their more educated counterparts. Conclusions Socially disadvantaged subjects have more to gain from lifestyle and blood pressure modification, hopefully reducing both their risk and also social inequality in disease.

The Signature of Maternal Social Rank in Placenta Deoxyribonucleic Acid Methylation Profiles in Rhesus Monkeys.

The effects of social status on human health can be modeled in captive cohorts of nonhuman primates. This study shows that maternal social rank is associated with broad changes in DNA methylation in placentae of rhesus monkeys (N=10). Differentially methylated genes between social ranks are enriched in signaling pathways playing major roles in placenta physiology. Moreover, the authors found significant overlaps with genes whose expression was previously associated with social rank in adult rhesus monkeys (Tung etal., 2012) and whose methylation was associated with perinatal stress in newborn humans and rhesus monkeys (Nieratschker etal., 2014). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that system-wide epigenetic changes in multiple tissues are involved in long-term adaptations to the social environment.

Decoupling social status and status certainty effects on health in macaques: a network approach.

BackgroundAlthough a wealth of literature points to the importance of social factors on health, a detailed understanding of the complex interplay between social and biological systems is lacking. Social status is one aspect of social life that is made up of multiple structural (humans: income, education; animals: mating system, dominance rank) and relational components (perceived social status, dominance interactions). In a nonhuman primate model we use novel network techniques to decouple two components of social status, dominance rank (a commonly used measure of social status in animal models) and dominance certainty (the relative certainty vs. ambiguity of an individual’s status), allowing for a more complex examination of how social status impacts health.MethodsBehavioral observations were conducted on three outdoor captive groups of rhesus macaques (N = 252 subjects). Subjects’ general physical health (diarrhea) was assessed twice weekly, and blood was drawn once to assess biomarkers of inflammation (interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)).ResultsDominance rank alone did not fully account for the complex way that social status exerted its effect on health. Instead, dominance certainty modified the impact of rank on biomarkers of inflammation. Specifically, high-ranked animals with more ambiguous status relationships had higher levels of inflammation than low-ranked animals, whereas little effect of rank was seen for animals with more certain status relationships. The impact of status on physical health was more straightforward: individuals with more ambiguous status relationships had more frequent diarrhea; there was marginal evidence that high-ranked animals had less frequent diarrhea.DiscussionSocial status has a complex and multi-faceted impact on individual health. Our work suggests an important role of uncertainty in one’s social status in status-health research. This work also suggests that in order to fully explore the mechanisms for how social life influences health, more complex metrics of social systems and their dynamics are needed.

Associations between subjective social status and physical and mental health functioning among patients with hypertension

We examine the cross-sectional association between subjective social status and self-rated physical and mental health functioning in 518 Black and White patients enrolled in a community-based hypertension control research study. We found that (1) subjective social status, measured using both a proximal and distal referent group, was positively associated with physical and mental health functioning scores independent of educational level, household income, or both; (2) the effect of subjective social status on physical and mental health functioning differed significantly by race when using the distal, not the proximal, referent group. When the associations differed, they were stronger for Whites than Blacks.

STILL SEARCHING FOR A TRUE RACE? REPLY TO KRAMER ET AL. AND ALBA ET AL.

STILL SEARCHING FOR A TRUE RACE? REPLY TO KRAMER ET AL. AND ALBA ET AL.

Status, legitimacy, and the presence of outside directors in China

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine firms’ early adoption decision regarding new practices, and what social factors – that is social status and political legitimacy – may influence decision processes under ambiguity.Design/methodology/approach– The study examines outside director presence among publicly listed firms in China between 1991 and 2000, using discrete time – event history analysis based on observation of 770 firms.Findings– Social status negatively influences early adoption decisions through the expectation of status enhancement, while political legitimacy is also influential because early adoptions are more attractive to firms in need of political access. Moreover, a firm’ political legitimacy moderates the effect of social status, due to their resource dependence on different stakeholders.Originality/value– This study’s findings provide important insights for research on diffusion models of new practices by identifying the social processes during early diffusion, and articulating different effects of status and legitimacy. It further emphasizes the sociopolitical perspectives and social motives of governance structure changes in emerging economies.

Conflict between background matching and social signalling in a colour-changing freshwater fish.

The ability to change coloration allows animals to modify their patterning to suit a specific function. Many freshwater fishes, for example, can appear cryptic by altering the dispersion of melanin pigment in the skin to match the visual background. However, melanin-based pigments are also used to signal dominance among competing males; thus colour change for background matching may conflict with colour change for social status signalling. We used a colour-changing freshwater fish to investigate whether colour change for background matching influenced aggressive interactions between rival males. Subordinate males that had recently darkened their skin for background matching received heightened aggression from dominant males, relative to males whose coloration had not changed. We then determined whether the social status of a rival male, the focal male's previous social status, and his previous skin coloration, affected a male's ability to change colour for background matching. Social status influenced skin darkening in the first social encounter, with dominant males darkening more than subordinate males, but there was no effect of social status on colour change in the second social encounter. We also found that the extent of skin colour change (by both dominant and subordinate males) was dependent on previous skin coloration, with dark males displaying a smaller change in coloration than pale males. Our findings suggest that skin darkening for background matching imposes a significant social cost on subordinate males in terms of increased aggression. We also suggest that the use of melanin-based signals during social encounters can impede subsequent changes in skin coloration for other functions, such as skin darkening for background matching.

Marriage Age, Social Status and Intergenerational Effects in Uganda

I use a nationally representative dataset for Uganda to estimate the impact of marriage age on later life outcomes for women and also on their children’s health outcomes. I use plausibly exogenous variation in the age of menarche of women to instrument for their mar- riage age. A delay of one year in physical maturation of women leads to an increase of 0.45 years in their marriage age. Using age at menarche as an instrument in a Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) framework, I find that a one year delay in marriage leads to an increase of 0.5-0.75 years of education and an increase of about 5-10 percent in the chance of being fully literate. I also find large and significant negative effects of earlier marriage on other out- comes such as labour force participation, decision making power, perceived social status, contraceptive use and spousal characteristics. Additionally, In terms of intergenerational effects of early marriage, I find significant negative effects of early marriage on the child’s hemoglobin levels, probability of being anemic and severely anemic. I also find negligible negative effects on Body Mass Index (BMI), height and weight. Using diagnostic checks and several robustness checks, I provide evidence that the instrument satisfies the inclusion and exclusion restrictions, thus raising the causal nature of the estimates.

Putting the stress on conspiracy theories: Examining associations between psychological stress, anxiety, and belief in conspiracy theories

Psychological stress and anxiety may be antecedents of belief in conspiracy theories, but tests of this hypothesis are piecemeal. Here, we examined the relationships between stress, anxiety, and belief in conspiracy theories in a sample of 420 U.S. adults. Participants completed measures of belief in conspiracy theories, perceived stress, stressful life events, trait and state anxiety, episodic tension, and demographic information. Regression analysis indicated that more stressful life events and greater perceived stress predicted belief in conspiracy theories once effects of social status and age were accounted for (Adj. R2=.09). State and trait anxiety and episodic tension were not significant predictors. These findings point to stress as a possible antecedent of belief in conspiracy theories.

The effect of subjective social status on depressive thinking: An experimental examination

Subjective social status (SSS) predicts health outcomes above and beyond objective measures of social status. Both objective and subjective measures of social status are strongly related with depression. Cognitive mechanisms such as depressive cognitions, rumination, and a negative cognitive style are seen as both concomitant and antecedent to depression. This experiment examined the causal role of SSS in developing depressive thinking. Participants were randomly assigned to a low and a high status group and followed a manipulation procedure targeting their SSS. Depressive thinking was subsequently assessed by depressive cognitions, stress-reactive state rumination and negative cognitive style. Low status participants exhibited higher levels of depressive cognitions and rumination compared to their high status counterparts, but both groups did not differ regarding their cognitive style. Findings support the causal nature of the relationship between SSS and depressive thinking. Several mechanisms of how low SSS may lead to depression are discussed.