Perception of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life According to Political Ideology: A Study Involving Young People in Spain
A group of researchers from the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center of the University of Granada (UGR), members of the Laboratory of Social Psychology of Inequality (http://wwwlocal.ugr.es/~psidesigualdad/), has carried out a study on the perception of economic inequality.
The perceptions of economic inequality in the everyday life of 290 young people from Spain were analyzed. The responses of the volunteers were processed through both qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (descriptive analysis of frequencies) analysis.
Using the descriptive analysis of frequencies, it was shown that people perceive economic inequality in terms of social comparison, economic income, differences between social classes (with an emphasis on elites) and in public space. Other categories were also mentioned, such as the difficulty or deficiency of access to health, education, food, etc.
In addition, they also carried out a network analysis, where four groups of categories were identified on how inequality is perceived: inequality of opportunities, between social classes, at work level and between specific social groups.
Political ideology also affects the perception of economic inequality. People on the left of the political spectrum make more reference to social class, elites, and corruption. In relation to the rest of the categories, the perceptions of economic inequality did not differ greatly according to the people’s political ideology.
In conclusion, with this study, the members of the Laboratory of Social Psychology of Inequality discuss the perception of economic inequality as a multidimensional phenomenon experienced in everyday life, which influences the way of understanding and reacting to social disparities.
Full reference:
García-Sánchez, E., García-Castro, J. D., Willis, G. B., & Rodríguez-Bailón, R. (2021). Perception of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life According to Political Ideology: A Study Involving Young People in Spain. Journal of Social Studies, 2–21. https://doi.org/10.7440/res79.2022.01
Researchers contact
-Efraín García-Sánchez: egarcias@ugr.es
-Guillermo B. Willis: gwillis@ugr.es
-Rosa Rodríguez Bailón: rrbailon@ugr.es