Testing the Status-Legitimacy Hypothesis in China: Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Status Divergently Predict System Justification

Abstract

The status-legitimacy hypothesis proposes that people with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to justify the social system than those with higher SES. However, empirical studies found inconsistent findings. In the present research, we argue that at least part of the confusion stems from the possibility that objective and subjective SES are differently related to system justification. On one hand, subjective SES is more related to status maintenance motivation and may increase system justification. On the other hand, objective SES is more related to access to information about the social reality, which may increase criticism about the system and lead to lower system justification. These hypotheses were supported by evidence from five studies (total N = 26,134) involving both adult and adolescent samples in China. We recommend that future research on status-related issues needs to distinguish the potential divergent roles of objective and subjective SES.

System Justification Among the Disadvantaged: A Triadic Social Stratification Perspective

“…In the face of the foregoing empirical discrepancies (see also Li et al, 2020), Owuamalam et al (2018Owuamalam et al ( , 2019a have queried the necessity of SJT's system motive explanation and proposed instead that the system justification effect can be more parsimoniously explained with the traditional interestbased perspectives via their social identity model of system attitudes (SIMSA). Rooted in the social identity tradition, SIMSA assumes that the system justification effect can be driven by the need for accuracy and a positive social identity, and advances three explanations in these regards.…”

Can Pets Replace Children? The Interaction Effect of Pet Attachment and Subjective Socioeconomic Status on Fertility Intention

“…Subjective SES is correlated with individuals' objective SES (e.g., education, income), but it also contributes to social thoughts, emotion, and behavior independently of an individual's objective resources [32]. As subjective SES is often ascribed subjective meaning that is influenced by the situational or broader social context, such as other individuals to whom an individual compares his or her income or educational level [33], the subjective perception of social class has more important insights than objective SES into psychological processes, such as self-perceptions [34], system justification belief [35], and subjective well-being [31].…”

“…Overall, we propose two hypotheses: (a) for individuals with high levels of subjective SES, pet attachment is positively associated with fertility intention, while the fertility choices of individuals with low subjective SES are not influenced by pet attachment (Hypothesis 1a; see Figure 1a); (b) for individuals with high levels of subjective SES, pet attachment is negatively associated with fertility intention, while the fertility choices of individuals with low subjective SES are not influenced by pet attachment (Hypothesis 1b; see Figure 1b). than objective SES into psychological processes, such as self-perceptions [34], system justification belief [35], and subjective well-being [31]. The psychological orientation approach to SES suggests that perceptions of one's social class rank produce different characteristic patterns of thought, feelings, and behaviors [36,37].…”

Gender System Justification, Gender Differences and Attitudes Towards Women’ Victimization

“…This is seen as much among the advantaged as among the disadvantaged. Indeed, the paradox underlying system justification theory relates to the fact that the disadvantaged are no less likely than the privileged to believe that social system is legitimate and good [9,11,33]. On the contrary, the motivation to justify the system is particularly strong among them.…”