Perceiving Low Social Mobility Induces Zero-Sum Beliefs About Social Hierarchies

Individuals may consider socioeconomic status (SES) change from an absolute or relative standpoint. Across five studies and supplementary analyses of secondary data, we found that individuals who perceive SES as being unlikely to change (i.e., low perceived social mobility) tend to consider SES change from a relative standpoint—i.e., one person’s gain in SES occurs at the expense of another’s loss in SES—reflecting that they harbor zero-sum beliefs regarding social hierarchies. In other words, the extent to which individuals believe that society is mobile predicts how they consider the nature of social mobility. This relationship is mediated by a scarcity mindset, and further predicts the tendency for aggression. The findings held when we controlled for variables such as perceived economic inequality, income, and education.