Beliefs About Wealth and Mobility are Related to Evaluations of Economic Inequalities

Poverty lowers physical and psychological wellbeing. Yet, as economic inequality has grown in the United States, a minority of Americans list it among their top concerns. To understand the psychological underpinnings of this paradox, this study surveyed U.S. young adults ( N  = 184, M age  = 19.43)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social justice research Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 429 - 445
Main Authors: Samuelson, Arvid, Burkholder, Amanda R., Dahl, Audun, Sriram, Ameya, Killen, Melanie
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2025
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adults
Anthropology
Attitudes
Attribution
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Economic inequality
Economic policy
Economic wellbeing
Economics
Income inequality
Inequality
Meritocracy
Perceptions
Personality and Social Psychology
Philosophy
Political Science
Poverty
Psychological well being
Psychology
Social mobility
Social Policy
Sociology
Upward mobility
Wealth
Wealth distribution
Well being
Young adults
United States > US
Wealth inequalities
Moral reasoning
Wage inequalities
Social mobility
Status quo
ISSN:0885-7466, 1573-6725
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Poverty lowers physical and psychological wellbeing. Yet, as economic inequality has grown in the United States, a minority of Americans list it among their top concerns. To understand the psychological underpinnings of this paradox, this study surveyed U.S. young adults ( N  = 184, M age  = 19.43) about their beliefs around social mobility, attributions of individual sources to wealth, and perceptions of U.S. wealth and wage inequalities. We were particularly interested in the difference between what participants believed were the actual levels of economic inequality and what their ideal levels were–their perceived-ideal disparity. Results revealed that the association between attributions of wealth to individual sources and their perceived-ideal disparity was mediated by perceptions of societal mobility. These findings help to explain attitudes that contribute to perpetuating wealth inequalities.
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ISSN:0885-7466
1573-6725
DOI:10.1007/s11211-025-00467-z