How do people make sense of wealth and poverty?

Davidai, Shai

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.010

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Since people typically view others’ gains as coming at their own expense (but not vice-versa; Roberts & Davidai, in press), such broad identification with “the poor” may foster a belief that the rich gain at both one’s own and everyone else’s expense. On the other hand, people often view “the poor” unfavorably (Fiske et al, 2002), attribute their outcomes to internal failings (Davidai, 2021), and draw clear distinctions between themselves and worse-off others (Kuziemko et al, 2014). Thus, even when engaging in upward comparisons, people may be reluctant to identify with worse-off others, and therefore interpret zero-sum relationships as relating to how “the rich” gain at the expense of “the poor” rather than how “the rich” gain at their own, personal expense.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal relative deprivation and the belief that economic success is zero-sum.

Ongis¹,

Davidai²

2022

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Why do people view economic success as zero-sum? In seven studies (including a large, nationally representative sample of more than 90,000 respondents from 60 countries), we explore how personal relative deprivation influences zero-sum thinking-the belief that one person's gains can only be obtained at other people's expense. We find that personal relative deprivation fosters a belief that economic success is zero-sum, and that this is true regardless of participants' household income, political ideology, or subjective social class. Moreover, in a large and preregistered study, we find that the effect of personal relative deprivation on zero-sum thinking is mediated by lay perceptions of society. The more people see themselves as having been unfairly disadvantaged relative to others, the more they view the world as unjust and economic success as determined by external forces beyond one's control. In turn, these cynical views of society lead people to believe that economic success is zero-sum. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on social comparisons, the distribution of resources, and the psychological consequences of feeling personally deprived.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal relative deprivation and the belief that economic success is zero-sum.

Ongis¹,

Davidai²

2022

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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“…Older teenagers (14–17 years) demonstrate more awareness of structural factors and how inequality is related to economic and political systems (e.g., ‘not many people have the skill to do that job, so the pay is high’; ‘capitalism means a small number of people have most of the wealth’; Diaz et al, 2022; Dickinson, 1990; Flanagan et al, 2014; Leahy, 1983), but sophisticated structural explanations remain comparatively rare. Indeed, individualistic explanations for wealth and poverty persist in adulthood (Davidai, 2022) and are the most common explanation that adults give for pay differentials (Dickinson, 2006) in Western, capitalist societies like the United Kingdom and the United States.…”

Section: Children's Understanding Of Inequality: From Having and Not ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's developing understanding of economic inequality and their place within it

Dickinson

Leman

Easterbrook

2023

British J of Dev Psycho

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“…The language of motivation must be used with caution by social workers. While inner drive enhances task completion, focusing primarily on inner drive and ignoring structural factors can lead to narratives of pathology for the marginalized populations served by social workers (Davidai, 2022;Taylor et al, 2011). In fact, SDT began as a counter to the view of motivation as solely internal or external, by considering both person and social environment as supporting or undermining the three psychological needs whose fulfillment is essential to motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1980).…”

Section: Motivation and Social Work Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-determination Theory and Social Work Values

Kirzner

Miserandino

2023

Research on Social Work Practice

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Self-determination theory (SDT) is an evidence-based approach to programs promoting behavioral change. Social work researchers are increasingly incorporating SDT into program planning and evaluation. Yet the theory itself, developed within the discipline of psychology, has not been fully evaluated for congruence with social work values and perspectives. We compare the core tenets of SDT to values found within the United States National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, and find that there is a significant overlap between SDT and social work values. Areas of congruence include autonomy, relatedness, and the importance of human relationships. There are some concepts within SDT that need special consideration when used by social workers, in particular competence and motivation. These constructs have been used to support narratives of individual responsibility in the face of problems caused by societal structures. Further, the theory's traditional framing of context has not explicitly highlighted social justice. SDT has been shown to be an effective strategy in supporting behavioral change. Social workers must be careful to include structural factors such as poverty and discrimination when applying SDT to planning and evaluating social work programs. With these considerations, we suggest that SDT can be a powerful tool for planning and evaluation of social interventions.

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How do people make sense of wealth and poverty?

Cited by 22 publications

References 66 publications

Personal relative deprivation and the belief that economic success is zero-sum.

Personal relative deprivation and the belief that economic success is zero-sum.

Children's developing understanding of economic inequality and their place within it

Self-determination Theory and Social Work Values

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