Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between the Perception of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life (PEIEL) and two of its most important effects: tolerance to inequality and attitudes toward redistributive policies. People perceive and evaluate reality according to the most accessible and prominent characteristics of their immediate surroundings. Although previous works have examined the consequences of the perception of inequality, they have usually used abstract measures. Four studies were conducted. The first was correlational (207 participants) and used a scale designed to measure PEIEL. The next two were experimental: one exploratory (261 participants) and the second confirmatory (372 participants). PEIEL was manipulated by asking participants to think and describe in an essay the impact that the wealth has on the everyday life of the friend with most and fewest economic resources they know. A control condition was also used. In Study 4, 285 participants were asked to do the same, but after reviewing the Facebook timelines and photographs of their friend with the most and the fewest economic resources. The results showed that PEIEL predicts, over and above the abstract measures of inequality, tolerance to inequality and attitudes towards redistribution. Those who were exposed to the manipulation of PEIEL tolerated less inequality and supported more redistribution. The studies show that tolerance to inequality mediated the relationship between PEIEL and attitudes toward redistributive policies. These results indicate that in order to reduce economic inequality tolerance and increase support for redistribution, strategies could emphasize inequality’s negative effects on people’s daily lives.