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Social Class, Control, and Culture: Individuals with Low Socioeconomic Status Perceive Less Control in Relationally Immobile Societies

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Studies have shown that individuals with high socioeconomic status (SES) perceive a greater sense of control than those with lower SES. However, no studies have examined how sociocultural contexts affect perceived control of individuals from different SES backgrounds. Studies 1 and 2 found that the association between SES and sense of control was stronger in countries with low relational mobility (e.g. East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa) compared to those with high relational mobility (e.g. Latin America), largely due to lower perceived control among low-SES individuals in immobile societies. Study 3 demonstrated that self-reported relational mobility mediated the cross-country differences in SES-control associations. Study 4 experimentally manipulated relational mobility to establish its causal effect on the SES-control association. These findings suggest that social environments that afford less-flexible social networks exacerbate SES disparities in perceived control and highlight how social ecology may disproportionately impact individuals with lower SES.

Source: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

DOI: 10.1177/01461672251328722

Author: Kuan-Ju Huang

Institution: Kyoto University

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Differences and Values

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science