Thinking Structurally: A Cognitive Framework for Understanding How People Attribute Inequality to Structural Causes

Abstract

To make accurate causal inferences about social-group inequalities, people must consider structural causes. Structural causes are a distinct type of extrinsic cause—they are stable, interconnected societal forces that systematically advantage some social groups and disadvantage others. We propose a new cognitive framework to specify how people attribute inequality to structural causes. This framework is rooted in counterfactual theories of causal judgment and suggests that people will recognize structural factors as causal when they are perceived as “difference-making” for inequality above and beyond any intrinsic causes. Building on this foundation, our framework makes the following contributions. First, we propose specific types of evidence that support difference-making inferences about structural factors: within-group change (i.e., observing that disadvantaged groups’ outcomes improve under better societal conditions) and well-matched between-group comparisons (i.e., observing that advantaged group members, who have similar baseline traits to the disadvantaged group, experience more favorable societal conditions and life outcomes). Second, we consider contextual, cognitive, and motivational barriers that may complicate the availability and acceptance of this evidence. We conclude by exploring how the framework might be applied in future research examining people’s causal inferences about inequality.

Children can represent complex social status hierarchies: Evidence from Indonesia

“…Relatedly, examining children's explanations for ethnic status differences, namely whether these differences are explained by intrinsic versus structural factors, could offer novel theoretical insights into how societal structures shape causal reasoning (Amemiya et al, 2022). While children may accept structural explanations for ethnic inequalities when structures benefit one ethnic group (e.g., social policies in the United States favoring White Americans), it may be more challenging for them to appreciate structural causes in contexts such as Indonesia where ethnic groups possess both societal advantages and disadvantages.…”

Unequal selves in the classroom: Nature, origins, and consequences of socioeconomic disparities in children’s self-views.

“…Our review suggests that classroom experiences can undercut the self-views of children from low-SES backgrounds, even if these children are unaware of their structural disadvantages. Yet, with age, they often do develop such awareness (Amemiya et al, 2023; Heberle & Carter, 2015). From age 9 to 10, they form more realistic assessments of their family’s SES (Peretz-Lange et al, 2022), understand that lowerSES families have fewer possessions (Peretz-Lange et al, 2022), and become more inclined to explain such intergroup differences in structural terms (Peretz-Lange et al, 2021).…”

Social and structural determinants of injection drug use‐associated bacterial and fungal infections: A qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis

“…Identifying, measuring and ameliorating socialstructural factors has informed clinical and public health responses to other drug-related harms, including HIV [27][28][29], hepatitis C virus (HCV) [30] and overdose [31,32]. Understanding the influence of social context on health can broaden awareness of the causes of illness [33] and inform more appropriate prevention and treatment interventions [29,34,35].…”