w3 - Psych' Effects of Economic Inequality

Question 1

What does WEIRD stand for?

Answer 1

Western
Educated
Industrualised
Rich
Democratic

Question 2

What is economic inequality ?

Answer 2

The co-existence of wealth and poverty in the same place

Economic inequality is not the same as poverty

Question 3

The United Nations Human Development Report cites two seismics shifts that wil shape the 21st century.

Answer 3

1. Climate change
2. Tecnological transformations

Question 4

What is the Gini coefficient, and what does it use to calculate?

Answer 4

A Gini coefficient is a very common measure of economic inequality.

It is calculated using a Lorenz curve

Question 5

What is a postive, and two negatives, of using ratios to measure inequality?

Answer 5

Pos: intuitive for us to understand

Neg:
often misses people who sit in the middle ‘

Predefines what and who is considered rich and who poor

Question 6

How is income defined?

Answer 6

Money received on a continuous basis, as a return for work or investments

Used for most metrics of inequality

Question 7

How is wealth defined?

Answer 7

Money or possessions accumulated by a person during the course of their life

Much harder to measure than income.

Question 8

What is likely to be higher, wealth or income inequality

Answer 8

Wealth inequality is much higher than income inequality

Question 9

What are the general findings of the ineqaulity study among children and what do they imply?

Answer 9

• Children 3-4 will ellect to forgo to nullify a perceived dissadvantage between them and other
• Children 7-8 will forgo their own personal advantage if their perceive it to be unfair (seeing mainly in WEIRD cultures)

This implies that a desire for equality is innate in humans (an primates

Question 10

What are three reasons people report for accepting an unqual society?

Answer 10

1. Selfishness : to get ahead
2. Motivation and mobility : to do more
3. Fairness

Question 11

What is a key confound often seen in inequality studies ?

Answer 11

The conditions of inequality are just given to participants. No explaination as to why the inequality exists is provided

Question 12

What are some different ways people perceive fairness?

Answer 12

1. Equality
2. Merit : effort should equal outcome
3. Need : acknowledging pre-existing advantages

Question 13

What is the relationship of merit and equality?

Answer 13

WEIRD cultures support merit-based systems and absorb them as being fair

This preference emerges early
- 4 year olds have an equality bias
- by 6 an meirt over eqauality bias will have emerged

Question 13

Name three techniques for assessing inequality.

Answer 13

1. Correlational
2. Across time
3. Experimental

Question 14

What aspects are true for Social Identity Theory & Self-Categorization Theory ?

Answer 14

• Strucutal factors predict behaviour > individual factors
• Social identity is derived from the groups we belong to
• Positive social identity (largely) comes from favourable comparisons made between your group and other groups

Question 15

Exposure to economic inequality

How does inequality enhance wealth categorisation ?

Answer 15

• The further apart we are in terms of wealth the more distinct categories become
• People see the world in terms of wealth
• People value wealth more
• People are motivated to become wealthier

Question 16

Exposure to economic inequality

How does inequality enhance social comparisons, and ‘us’ vs ‘them’ dynamics ?

Answer 16

• Increased friction has wealth differences become more visible
• Lossed sense of ‘togetherness’
• Amplifies competion between ‘us’ and ‘them’
• Erodes trust toward others in general

Question 17

What is Bimbola and what is it used for?

Answer 17

Bimbola is a fictitious world that is represented by ether high or low inequality as represented by three tiers of income.

Particiapnts are placed into the middle tier of ether the high or low inequality world which is seen to influence behavioural decisions

Used to show how exposure to inequality might affect us.

Question 18

While increased inequality see’s reported happiness decrease, what is another factor that it is influencing ?

Answer 18

Increased inequality results in trusting others less and perceiving others as less fair.

This also is seen to have an effect on happiness.

Question 19

What is the Moral Expansivness Scale (MES), and what is it based off?

Answer 19

Based of the Singer concept of moral circles.

The MES outlines four rings of ones moral circle of importance.
- Inner circle : highest level of moral concern and standing
- outter circle : moderate moral conern and standing
- fringes circle : not obligated or personally responsible
- Outside the moral boundary : nonsensical

Question 20

What is the concept of anomie?

Answer 20

The idea that society is decending into a state of chaos. Two components
1. breakdown in the social fabric (low trust)
2. breakdown in leadership

Question 21

How does economic inequality relate to anomie ?

Answer 21

• More desire for a strong populist leader
• Subjective beliefs in inequality correlated with higher belief in conspiracy thinking (only increased for people who already had a conspirital mindview)
• Decrease in moral norms

More inequality increased all these factors, mediated by anomie

Question 22

What is one factor that can increase coperation and support in an unequal context?

Answer 22

The introduction of a cooperative norm. i.e someone stepping forward and offering the norm of sharing an support. This is seen to increase the sharing between groups