Income inequality, perceived competitiveness, and approach‐avoidance motivation

Abstract

Objective Scholars disagree on whether income inequality has incentive or disincentive effects. In the present research, we move beyond such debate and focus on the motivational processes that income inequality predicts. First, income inequality makes economic stratification salient; therefore, it should promote perceived competitiveness. Second, competitiveness can be appraised as both a challenge and a threat; therefore, it should promote both approach and avoidance motivation. Method In three studies (N = 2,543), U.S. residents from various ZIP codes reported the extent to which they perceived competitiveness in their town/city (Studies 1–3), as well as their economic achievement goals, achievement motives, and self‐regulatory foci (Studies 2–3). Results Level of local income inequality was found to be a positive predictor—via increased perceived competitiveness—of other‐approach economic goals, need for achievement, and promotion focus, as well as other‐avoidance economic goals, fear of failure (specifically, the shame/embarrassment component), and prevention focus. Furthermore, actual and perceived income inequality were positively correlated. Conclusions The conceptual and empirical work herein is the first to show how the economic environment predicts individuals’ perceptions of competitiveness, influencing personal goals, motives, and orientations. It provides a more nuanced perspective on the implications of income inequality than perspectives currently available.

Why and for whom does the pressure to help hurt others? Affective and cognitive mechanisms linking helping pressure to workplace deviance

“…This study was approved by the Michigan State University Institutional Review Board (IRB#: 00001184: Workplace Interactions and Well‐Being). We recruited participants from ResearchMatch (for a recent example, see Sommet, Elliot, Jamieson, & Butera, ), a website created by Vanderbilt University and funded by the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award. ResearchMatch's purpose is to help match researchers with study participants who have indicated their willingness to be recruited for research studies.…”

Connecting perceived economic threat and prosocial tendencies: The explanatory role of empathic concern

“…Current psychological approaches suggest that times of economic turmoil and rising social inequality clearly exemplify sources of economic threat that could instigate destructive or potentially negative psychological responses [20]. For instance, recent research indicates that increased income inequality, one of the most distinctive features of the Great Recession [21], may exacerbate social distance between citizens [22], thereby fostering individualistic tendencies [23] and perceptions of interpersonal competitiveness [24]. Nevertheless, research that directly analyzes the links between the experience of personal economic threat related to the economic crisis and theoretically relevant psychological outcomes is limited [25].…”

Economic Inequality and Masculinity–Femininity: The Prevailing Perceived Traits in Higher Unequal Contexts Are Masculine

“…In recent years, economic inequality has been growing in the majority of developed countries (Piketty and Saez, 2014). This inequality is associated with important psychological processes, the most unequal societies tend to promote relational dynamics that are focused on personal independence and individualism (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2018, 2019), competitiveness (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2018; Sommet et al, 2018), and aggressiveness and hostility (Greitemeyer and Sagioglou, 2017).…”

“…For instance, economic inequality has been found to influence perceived societal norms, leading individuals to infer that others are more individualistic (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2018); it also leads them to describe themselves by means of an independent self-construal (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2019). At the same time, economic inequality is an important predictor of perceived competitiveness within a society (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2018; Sommet et al, 2018). When people perceive that there is a high degree of economic inequality, they tend to be less cooperative with others (Nishi et al, 2015), and high status people become less generous [Côté et al, 2015; but see Schmukle et al (2019) for a non-replication of this finding].…”