High economic inequality leads higher-income individuals to be less generous

Côté, Stéphane; House, Julian; Willer, Robb

doi:10.1073/pnas.1511536112

Cited by 238 publications

(297 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Particularly when making downward social comparisons to the disadvantaged, research shows that higher social class individuals are more selfish, entitled, and scornful (15,22,27,28), psychological states that foster antisocial behavior (29). Dovetailing with research demonstrating that increased visibility of inequality decreases other-regarding behavior among wealthier individuals (23), we predict greater odds of air rage among first class passengers when situational inequality is present: when flights are boarded from the front versus the middle of the airplane.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 51%

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Physical and situational inequality on airplanes predicts air rage

DeCelles

Norton

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We posit that the modern airplane is a social microcosm of classbased society, and that the increasing incidence of "air rage" can be understood through the lens of inequality. Research on inequality typically examines the effects of relatively fixed, macrostructural forms of inequality, such as socioeconomic status; we examine how temporary exposure to both physical and situational inequality, induced by the design of environments, can foster antisocial behavior. We use a complete set of all onboard air rage incidents over several years from a large, international airline to test our predictions. Physical inequality on airplanes-that is, the presence of a first class cabin-is associated with more frequent air rage incidents in economy class. Situational inequality-boarding from the front (requiring walking through the first class cabin) versus the middle of the plane-also significantly increases the odds of air rage in both economy and first class. We show that physical design that highlights inequality can trigger antisocial behavior on airplanes. More broadly, these results point to the importance of considering the design of environments-from airplanes to office layouts to stadium seating-in understanding both the form and emergence of antisocial behavior.physical inequality | situational inequality | antisocial behavior | social class | air rage R ecent media attention has been devoted to the phenomenon colloquially known as "air rage" (1, 2): a form of antisocial behavior by airplane passengers becoming abusive or unruly, antagonizing crew members and other passengers, and endangering flight safety. Such incidents can be emotionally traumatic for passengers and staff, and expensive and reputationally damaging for airlines (3). Although virtually no empirical research examines the antecedents of this hazardous and increasingly common phenomenon, popular explanations for air rage include crowded planes, frustrating delays, and shrinking seats (1, 2). We advance an alternative view: the modern airplane reflects a social microcosm of class-based society, making inequality salient to passengers through both the physical design of the plane (the presence of a first class cabin) and, more subtly, the boarding procedure (whether economy passengers must pass through the first class cabin). We hypothesize that both types of inequality on airplanesphysical (presence of first class) and situational (boarding location)-trigger antisocial behavior (negative, often aggressive behaviors that are harmful to others) (4).Since Durkheim (5), scholars across disciplines have investigated inequality and social class. The influence of social class-individuals' material resources and relative rank in the socioeconomic hierarchy-is ubiquitous, and can affect critical outcomes, such as health, well-being, emotions, and behavior (6-12). Economic scholars often conceptualize class as socioeconomic status, comprised of relatively chronic and macrostructurally determined factors, such as education, income, and geographic location (e.g....

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 51%

“…Moreover, we explore a novel predictor of inequalityinduced antisocial behavior-the design of physical environments-augmenting research on macrostructural forms of inequality. class individuals (22,23), we show that situational inequality increases antisocial behavior among both higher and lower social class individuals.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 61%

Physical and situational inequality on airplanes predicts air rage

DeCelles

Norton

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Although none of these studies has randomized encounters with real-world inequality, several recent studies examine the effect of perceptions of inequality on survey responses and laboratory behaviors (3,10,11). A series of laboratory experiments (3) show that visible wealth encourages greater inequality, compared with when wealth is hidden.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…A series of laboratory experiments (3) show that visible wealth encourages greater inequality, compared with when wealth is hidden. Survey experiments (10) show that higher-income individuals are less generous, relative to lower-income individuals, if they reside in a highly unequal state or when randomly assigned to view simulated data indicating inequality is relatively high in their state. Rather than presenting subjects with information about inequality, this study experimentally induces inequality in a person's natural, ordinary environment.…”

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confidence: 99%

Exposure to inequality affects support for redistribution

Sands

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

142

116

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The distribution of wealth in the United States and countries around the world is highly skewed. How does visible economic inequality affect well-off individuals' support for redistribution? Using a placebo-controlled field experiment, I randomize the presence of poverty-stricken people in public spaces frequented by the affluent. Passersby were asked to sign a petition calling for greater redistribution through a "millionaire's tax." Results from 2,591 solicitations show that in a real-world-setting exposure to inequality decreases affluent individuals' willingness to redistribute. The finding that exposure to inequality begets inequality has fundamental implications for policymakers and informs our understanding of the effects of poverty, inequality, and economic segregation. Confederate race and socioeconomic status, both of which were randomized, are shown to interact such that treatment effects vary according to the race, as well as gender, of the subject.inequality | redistribution | field experiment | political science | taxation T he distribution of wealth in many countries across the globe is highly skewed. In the United States, the gap between the top 1% of earners and everyone else was wider in 2012 than any time since before the Great Depression (1) and is a pervasive social and political phenomenon (2). With this phenomenon comes visible manifestations of inequality, which affect social interactions from cooperation (3) to conflict (4). However, very little is known about how direct exposure to inequality in everyday settings-such as poverty and homelessness in relatively wealthy neighborhoods-shapes human behavior. Isolating this causal effect is challenging because of selective sorting. To overcome this difficulty, I experimentally manipulate exposure to inequality that occurs on sidewalks and street corners. Using a randomized placebo-controlled field experiment, I show momentary passive "contact" with a poverty stricken person in an affluent public place can change people's willingness to actively support redistributive policies.Economic inequality is an abstract concept that is difficult to concretely portray without the help of numbers, graphs, or words. Understanding the implications of exposure to inequality as a personal experience, rather than as an impersonal abstraction, requires the manipulation of microlevel contextual features. I evoke everyday inequality by placing poor individuals in a place of affluence. (Using a separate, online experiment, detailed in SI Appendix, I show that subjects describe images of the poor in affluent settings as depicting inequality. Thus, I use the terms "exposure to inequality" and "poverty in an affluent setting" interchangeably.)Those with the means to live and shop in such neighborhoods are more likely than the average citizen to participate in politics and donate to political causes and thus wield a disproportionate influence over politics and policy (2).The experimental intervention created a microenvironment of inequality that was both highly reali...

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“…One explanation is that the behavior of the rich relates not to accidents of birth, but to their social environment. Using both survey data and experiments with online subjects from the United States, Côté et al show that high economic inequality is itself a force that makes the rich less generous (2).…”

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confidence: 99%