Studies on social class’s influence on entitlement and its corresponding behaviors is an area of active inquiry. Research suggests that those in higher social classes tend to feel entitled and act in entitled manner even if this cannot be displayed publicly.
Entitlement is an overwhelming feeling that can drive selfish behaviors and discrimination against those less wealthy or upper class, impacting health and interpersonal behaviors in a negative manner.
Upper-class individuals are more likely to believe in greed
Greed is an urge that leads people to amass wealth and power for personal gain, often seen as a form of “desire.” Unfortunately, such desires can be detrimental to society and even cause people to develop strong resentments against those who exhibit greedy tendencies.
Greed is a major cause of this conflict, as people fight over larger pieces than they are entitled to receive from society. This results in social tension as those who lose out resent those who gain more than an equitable share – something true both individually and group greed.
Greed can sometimes be useful. It may enable an individual to amass more resources or live longer. Furthermore, greed may enable parents to raise more children more comfortably – passing along their genes for future generations.
Over the past 30 years, there have been numerous examples of greedy individuals leading successful organizations and governments – people like Donald Trump and Leona Helmsley are just two such examples.
While greed may be beneficial, it should not be encouraged at the expense of others. When left to run rampant it will eventually lead to poverty and chaos – thus the importance of tempering it with positive social norms such as generosity.
Education about greed can be one of the ways in which this can be accomplished, helping individuals understand its destructive effects and why it exists in humans.
Researchers employ priming, which involves manipulating an individual’s attitude before an event takes place. Here, participants were asked to think of three things they do on an average day (in the greed-is-good priming condition).
After this, they are asked to answer five items designed to assess their positive beliefs about greed (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree; M = 2.74, SD = 1.26 and a=0.92). Results reveal that participants in the greed-is-good primed condition were more likely to consider greed beneficial than those in neutral primed conditions.
This study’s results are in line with previous research on the relationship between social class and moral behavior, specifically how perception of greater resources, freedom and independence among upper-class individuals leads them to develop self-centered social-cognitive tendencies that lead them towards unethical behaviors.
Middle-class individuals are more likely to believe in fairness
There are various definitions of middle class, but generally speaking they share similar characteristics: those who comprise this group have incomes which fall at about two-thirds of the national average and live either in small or mid-sized cities – though more expensive areas tend to attract these individuals.
Some of the more prevalent definitions of middle class center around income, while others look at education levels or self-perceptions as indicators of class dynamics. All three may provide useful insight into class dynamics but do not give an exact indication of who constitutes middle class status.
One common method for defining the middle class is dividing population into quintiles and looking at annual income levels in each quintile – this allows us to measure changes over time in this demographic group.
However, this approach can sometimes overstate the size of the middle class as it fails to capture those outside this group yet still doing well and does not illustrate how significantly its population has shrunk over time.
One approach is using a cost-of-living adjustment, which compares a household’s annual income with prices in an area. While this provides an idea of the relative expense of living there, it does not take into account whether costs compare favorably or unfavourably with similar areas throughout the country.
As it does not consider differences in cost of living between areas, such as Jackson, Tennessee where middle class status might require only about $39,300, this method fails to accurately predict who will qualify as middle-class in future years.
One way of defining the middle class is through measuring an individual’s education level. Some economists prefer this method as it allows them to more quickly adapt to changing trends in education; others view this as unreliable measures.
One certainty about the middle class is its decline. Over recent decades, its percentage of Americans has diminished, with less younger workers than Gen Xers or baby boomers belonging to it at their age.
Lower-class individuals are more likely to believe in equality
Socioeconomic status plays a powerful role in shaping one’s self-perceptions and understanding of social events, from health to relationships to stereotyping and prejudice. Class can have profound effects on all areas of life from health to relationships to stereotyping and prejudice.
Economic inequality has increasingly become a focus for scholars over recent years due to its widening gulf between rich and poor. This gap has been associated with various negative outcomes, including increased populist politics, decreased trust in democracy and an upsurge of authoritarian movements.
Economists largely attribute an increasing wealth gap as one cause of inequality. A wider wealth gap makes it harder for low-wage workers to earn enough to cover basic living expenses while simultaneously diminishing bargaining power in negotiations and forcing larger companies to distribute less income to employees.
Class-based research has yielded some intriguing conclusions, one being that lower-class individuals tend to believe more strongly in equality than upper-class people do. This could be explained by lower-class people having greater empathy compared to their more privileged counterparts.
Lower-class people tend to be more prosocial because they feel less in control over their lives – this may be because their focus lies more with relationships and fitting in, whereas upper-class individuals usually have more financial control.
Studies have also demonstrated that people from lower-income backgrounds tend to be more compassionate than their higher-income counterparts, likely as a result of having greater empathy towards those less fortunate than themselves and this empathy being driven by egalitarian values (Easterbrook & colleagues 2015).
Lower-class people in the US tend to be more generous when making donations in dictator games compared to their higher-class peers, as per previous findings from these authors. They found that lower-class individuals are more likely to give away belongings offered anonymously from strangers.
Upper-class individuals are more likely to believe in control
Upper-class individuals tend to believe they have more of an entitlement to control others due to their higher social standing; having more influence gives them more authority.
Wealthier individuals tend to believe they are superior to lower-class individuals and will take advantage of those around them in order to increase their own wealth. For instance, they might spend money on luxury cars, attend conferences on ideas that exalt them further or purchase other goods and services which enhance their appearance or make them look desirable or appealing.
The upper class possess significant social capital, or “relationship capital”, meaning they know many others and can use those relationships to their advantage in life – using these connections to secure jobs, positions or rewards from those in power.
Upper-class adults also tend to be more satisfied with their family lives than lower-class adults; some 85% of upper-class adults report being very satisfied, compared with 78% for middle-class and 57% for lower-class individuals.
Furthermore, they tend to be less worried about the future and more optimistic about their financial status. 43% of upper-class adults are very certain they will have enough income and assets in retirement to cover them comfortably.
Upper-class individuals tend to believe more strongly in controlling society because they tend to be more accepting of different views, for instance they tend to accept that homosexuals have the right to marry more readily than lower-class individuals.
Upper-class individuals tend to be more accepting of people with differing political viewpoints than lower-class individuals; for example, upper-class individuals tend to be more accepting of conservatives than middle-class individuals.
Higher-class individuals tend to be more accepting of religious belief holders than lower-class individuals; specifically, Christian beliefs tend to be tolerated more than Muslim ones.
The upper class refers to those individuals and families that enjoy the highest social standing in society, possessing great wealth and often living in affluent neighborhoods. Members of this social stratum tend to wield much power and influence within their country – often serving as leaders themselves.
