The psychology of economic inequality and social class

Du, Hongfei; King, Ronnel B.

doi:10.1111/ajsp.12519

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies mostly focused on economic factors and individual differences as separate contributors to learners' reading achievement. This study was able to demonstrate the interplay between the two perspectives (e.g., Du & King, 2022;King & Trinidad, 2021). Moreover, it was able to delineate how these factors influence reading achievement at the individual and school levels.…”

Section: Implications and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Exploring the interplay between socioeconomic status and reading achievement: An expectancy‐value perspective

Yeung¹,

King

Nalipay³

et al. 2022

Brit J of Edu Psychol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Socioeconomic status (SES) and motivation are both important predictors of student achievement. However, most studies have investigated these factors separately, and very few have looked into the interplay between SES and motivation as determinants of student reading achievement. Aims We intend to bridge this gap by examining a model of SES predicting reading achievement through motivation (i.e., expectancy and value) at both student and school levels. Sample We used the data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 of 26,281 students from four regions in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taipei). Methods We used multi‐group multilevel path analysis to test whether SES would predict reading achievement mediated by expectancy and value in student and school levels across four regions, with gender as a covariate. Results Results showed that at the student level, SES significantly predicted reading achievement indirectly through both expectancy and value across four regions. At the school level, the relationship between school SES and school reading achievement was mostly direct. Conclusion The study was able to demonstrate the motivational gap as a pathway in which economic inequality can contribute to students’ reading achievement gap.

show abstract

Section: Implications and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Exploring the interplay between socioeconomic status and reading achievement: An expectancy‐value perspective

Yeung¹,

King

Nalipay³

et al. 2022

Brit J of Edu Psychol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has been rising throughout the industrialized world for the past 40 years (Solt, 2020). Studies have shown that income inequality is detrimental to health, well-being, and social cohesion Du & King, 2022 (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009a, 2009b, 2018). It has been widely investigated in the fields of political science (Engler & Weisstanner, 2020; Sands & Kadt, 2020), economics (Zucman, 2019), sociology (Fligstein et al, 2017), and epidemiology (Brinda et al, 2015; Chastin et al, 2020; Elgar, 2020) among others.…”

Section: Income Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater income inequality, lower school belonging: Multilevel and cross-temporal analyses of 65 countries.

King¹,

Chiu²,

Du³

2022

Journal of Educational Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Students' school belonging is critical to overall functioning. Most past studies of school belonging's antecedents focused on individual-level and proximal environmental factors, neglecting broader socioecological factors such as income inequality. Hence, this study examined whether income inequality is associated with students' school belonging. We further examined whether having high socioeconomic status could buffer the harmful consequences of income inequality on school belonging. We drew on 822,230 students' survey responses from 65 countries/regions using 3 waves of data (2000; 2003; and 2012) from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Multilevel and cross-temporal analyses were used. Results showed that country-level income inequality in the past year was associated with lower school belonging, controlling for other variables at the country, school, and student-levels. School and family socioeconomic status moderated the effects of inequality. More specifically, for students in more affluent schools and more advantaged families, the association between inequality and belonging was weaker. This study demonstrates the importance of income inequality and the buffering role played by socioeconomic status in school belonging. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Educational Impact and ImplicationsIn societies with higher levels of income inequality, students experienced lower levels of school belonging. However, being from an advantaged family and a more affluent school seemed to have a protective function. The negative association between inequality and belonging was lower for students from more affluent families and schools. This study showed the importance of income inequality on school belonging and highlighted the roles played by socioeconomic resources in buffering inequality's potentially harmful consequences.

show abstract

“…In the sociopsychological literature, economic inequality has largely been studied within countries [2][3][4], mainly neglecting a global perspective. Yet, we live in a highly unequal world and this great difference in wealth and income between countries is self-evident: In rich countries, people are healthier and live longer, they are much better educated and have access to a range of amenities and options in life that are precluded to people in poor countries [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why are some countries rich and others poor? development and validation of the attributions for Cross-Country Inequality Scale (ACIS)

Vezzoli,

Valtorta,

Gáspár

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding lay theories on the causes of economic inequality is the first step to comprehending why people tolerate, justify, or react against it. Accordingly, this paper aims to develop and validate with two cross-sectional studies the Attributions for Cross-Country Inequality Scale (ACIS), which assesses how people explain cross-country economic inequality–namely, the uneven distribution of income and wealth between poor and rich countries. After selecting and adapting items from existing scales of attributions for poverty and wealth, in Study 1, we tested the factorial structure of this initial pool of items in three countries with different levels of economic development and inequality, namely, Italy (n = 246), the UK (n = 248), and South Africa (n = 228). Three causal dimensions emerged from the Exploratory Factor Analysis: “rich countries” (blaming the systematic advantage of and exploitation by rich countries), “poor countries” (blaming the dispositional inadequacy and faults of poor countries), and “fate” (blaming destiny and luck). The retained items were administered in Study 2 to three new samples from Italy (n = 239), the UK (n = 249), and South Africa (n = 248). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) corroborated the factorial structure of the ACIS, and Multi-Group CFA supported configural and metric invariances of the scale across countries. In addition, we show internal consistency and construct validity of the scale: the scale correlates with relevant constructs (e.g., beliefs about cross-country inequality and ideological orientation) and attitudes toward relevant policies related to international redistribution and migration. Overall, the scale is a valid instrument to assess causal attribution for cross-national inequality and is reliable across countries. By focusing on resource distribution from an international perspective, this scale will allow researchers to broaden the discussion on economic inequality to a global level.

show abstract

The psychology of economic inequality and social class

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Exploring the interplay between socioeconomic status and reading achievement: An expectancy‐value perspective

Exploring the interplay between socioeconomic status and reading achievement: An expectancy‐value perspective

Greater income inequality, lower school belonging: Multilevel and cross-temporal analyses of 65 countries.

Why are some countries rich and others poor? development and validation of the attributions for Cross-Country Inequality Scale (ACIS)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About