Perceptions of U.S. Social Mobility Are Divided (and Distorted) Along Ideological Lines

The ability to move upward in social class or economic position (i.e., social mobility) is a defining feature of the American Dream, yet recent public-opinion polls indicate that many Americans are losing confidence in the essential fairness of the system and their opportunities for financial advanc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2015-04, Vol.26 (4), p.413-423
Main Authors: Chambers, John R., Swan, Lawton K., Heesacker, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitudes
Economic inequality
Humans
Judgement
Perception
Perceptions
Political ideologies
Politics
Public Opinion
Public opinion surveys
Social classes
Social cognition
Social inequality
Social mobility
Social Mobility - statistics & numerical data
Social Mobility - trends
Social psychology
Social stratification
Socioeconomic Factors
U.S.A
United States
Upward mobility
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Summary:The ability to move upward in social class or economic position (i.e., social mobility) is a defining feature of the American Dream, yet recent public-opinion polls indicate that many Americans are losing confidence in the essential fairness of the system and their opportunities for financial advancement. In two studies, we examined Americans' perceptions of both current levels of mobility in the United States and temporal trends in mobility, and we compared these perceptions with objective indicators to determine perceptual accuracy. Overall, participants underestimated current mobility and erroneously concluded that mobility has declined over the past four decades. These misperceptions were more pronounced among politically liberal participants than among politically moderate or conservative ones. These perception differences were accounted for by liberals' relative dissatisfaction with the current social system, social hierarchies, and economic inequality. These findings have important implications for theories of political ideology.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1177/0956797614566657