title: Why Wealthier People Think People Are Wealthier, and Why It Matters: From Social Sampling to Attitudes to Redistribution.
abstract: The present studies provide evidence that social-sampling processes lead wealthier people to oppose redistribution policies. In samples of American Internet users, wealthier participants reported higher levels of wealth in their social circles (Studies 1a and 1b). This was associated, in turn, with estimates of higher mean wealth in the wider U.S. population, greater perceived fairness of the economic status quo, and opposition to redistribution policies. Furthermore, results from a large-scale, nationally representative New Zealand survey revealed that low levels of neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation-an objective index of wealth within participants' social circles-mediated the relation between income and satisfaction with the economic status quo (Study 2). These findings held controlling for relevant variables, including political orientation and perceived self-interest. Social-structural inequalities appear to combine with social-sampling processes to shape the different political attitudes of wealthier and poorer people.
authors.affiliation: University of Kent rd299@kent.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rael J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dawtry
authors.affiliation: University of Kent.
authors.forename: Robbie M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.affiliation: University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Chris G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Sibley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
keywords: judgment; open data; open materials; social structure; socioeconomic status