Explaining inequality tolerance in the lab: effects of political efficacy and prospects of mobility on collective demand for redistribution

Abstract The low public demand for redistribution despite growing economic inequality has been characterized as a paradox especially for disadvantaged individuals. One prominent explanation for people’s tolerance to growing inequality posits that increased optimism about prospects of upward mobility undermines support for redistribution. A less explored explanation postulates that low political efficacy of disadvantaged individuals to enact meaningful change erodes collective demand for redistribution. In two preregistered experiments, we create a dynamic environment where low-income individuals collectively demand income redistribution by contributing to a public pool (collective action strategy), compete with each other for high-income group positions (individual mobility strategy), or avoid risks and disengage from both strategies (social inaction strategy). Lack of political efficacy, operationalized as high redistribution thresholds, gradually curtailed collective action, while exposure to high prospects of mobility did not influence collective action even when income group boundaries were highly permeable. Across participants, we identified three behavioral types (i.e., “mobility seekers”, “egalitarians”, and “disillusioned”) whose prevalence was affected by political efficacy but not by prospects of mobility or actual group permeability. These results cast doubt on the universality of the prospects of mobility hypothesis and highlight the prominent role of political inequality in the perpetuation of economic inequality

Nostalgia and acculturation

We identify three themes in the current research on nostalgia and acculturation. First, different types of nostalgia (i.e., home-culture and host-culture nostalgia) have distinct effects on immigrants' and sojourners' identification with home or host culture, affecting the integration of home and host cultural identities. Second, nostalgia during acculturation plays a crucial role in facilitating self-continuity among immigrants and sojourners moving across different cultures. Third, nostalgia affects the majority-group members' attitude towards immigrants and sojourners in the host culture. We conclude by highlighting three challenges for future research on nostalgia and acculturation: the content of types of nostalgia, the moderating role of individual differences, and the functions of nostalgia at various acculturation stages

Nostalgia and biculturalism: How host-culture nostalgia fosters bicultural identity integration

Individuals who have been exposed to and internalized two cultures vary in the degree to which they perceive their cultural identities as compatible (bicultural identity integration; BII). An experiment tested whether nostalgia, an emotion that is prevalent among bicultural individuals, influences BII and does so via acculturation orientation toward the host culture. Participants were originally from Greece, living in other European countries. We instructed them to recall nostalgic or ordinary events either from their host country or home country. We then assessed acculturation orientation and BII. We hypothesized and found that host-nostalgia increased BII both directly and indirectly via a more positive acculturation orientation toward the host culture. The findings extend the literature on factors that facilitate BII, and showcase the potential of nostalgia to improve biculturality.</p

Effects of socioeconomic status on left-right voting intentions: the role of economic ideology, perceived threats, and national identity

Existing evidence suggests that low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals vote for left-wing parties on economic grounds and right-wing parties on cultural grounds, while high SES individuals exhibit the opposite pattern. Although various psychological mechanisms may explain this pattern, it is still unclear whether these mechanisms mediate this relationship. In a preregistered study, we use data from 9 European countries (N = 8,750) to quantify and compare the mediating role of economic system justification, economic and symbolic threats, anti-immigrant attitudes, and national identification on the relationship between two dimensions of SES (education and subjective income) and left-right voting intentions. Anti-immigrant attitudes and immigration-specific threat best explained why low educated individuals vote for right-wing parties. In contrast, we observed a positive link between subjective income and right-wing voting, which was predominantly explained by endorsement of economic system-justifying beliefs. These findings showcase the disparity between income-related and education-related effects and highlight the heterogeneous psychological processes that underlie the relationship between SES and left-right voting intentions

United as One_Preprint

Global threats are often identified as triggers of intergroup conflict. However, personal vs. social identity threats can differently shape intergroup relations – enhancing or decreasing cooperation and prejudice. We tested the idea that appraisals of different types of threat (to personal vs. social identity motives) shape specific representations of intergroup relations (as one-group recategorization or separate-group coalition), which have opposing implications for modern prejudice towards ethnic minorities. In four studies (N = 2,772) performed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found evidence that personal threats were negatively associated with modern prejudice and this relation was mediated by preferences for separate group-representations, whereas social identity threats were positively associated with modern prejudice and mediated by preferences for one group representations