Journal of Social Issues最新文献

In four experiments (three preregistered; N_total = 4511), we investigated the influence of psychological distance to science (PSYDISC) on science evaluations. PSYDISC reflects the extent to which science is perceived as an (in)tangible undertaking conducted by people (dis)similar to oneself (social), with effects in the here (far away; spatial) and now (in the distant future; temporal), and as (un)useful and (in)applicable in the real world (hypothetical distance). In Study 1, framing the science of nanotechnology/genetic modification (GM) of food as psychologically close (vs. distant) lowered science skepticism. For GM science, we also found that psychological closeness increases perceived credibility and fosters more positive attitudes toward GM science. In a high-powered replication for GM science (Study 2), we replicated the effects on attitude positivity and skepticism (but not credibility). Closely framed GM science was perceived as more personally relevant (Studies 3 and 4), which increased perceptions of credibility and attitude positivity, and reduced skepticism (Study 4). An internal meta-analysis (Studies 1, 2, and 4) corroborated the main effects of PSYDISC on science evaluations. In sum, the current work provides evidence for a malleable antecedent of science evaluations—PSYDISC—that can be utilized to increase science acceptance.

Science denialism is at the heart of many conspiracy theory beliefs. We propose that such beliefs are manifestations of a distal social process: spite. In three pre-registered studies, we test the hypothesis that established predictors of these beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) are specific cues of competitive disadvantage that provoke a common facultative “spiteful” psychological response, making a person more open to believing in conspiracy theories. Study 1 (N = 301; UK representative Prolific sample), found that spite mediated the relationship between realistic threat and in-group narcissism (social motives), political powerlessness (existential motive), and intolerance for uncertainty (epistemic motive), and conspiracy theory belief and COVID-19 conspiracies. This pattern was replicated in Study 2 (N = 405; UK representative Prolific sample). In Study 3 (N = 405; UK representative Prolific sample), we found that those who engaged in a spite-inducing task reported higher levels of spite which indirectly resulted in stronger beliefs in conspiracy theories. The overall pattern of results provides initial evidence that spite may play a role in why people engage with false information. Research and policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Despite education's potential to reshape societal inequalities, recent gains in broadening university access across the socioeconomic spectrum have not translated into parallel gains in the transition from school to work. This work applies a socioecological approach to understanding this pattern, considering the role of job factors and individual financial background in shaping undergraduate student job choices and perceived career prospects. In two discrete choice experiments (n = 800) UK undergraduate students chose between pairs of job descriptions varying primarily along two dimensions: immediate versus delayed benefits (e.g., starting salary vs. salary progression), and concrete versus abstract benefits (e.g., salary vs. values fit). The findings suggest that career choice may be shaped by socioeconomic constraints above and beyond individual preferences for meaningful work, while the relationship between financial strain and career pessimism is mediated by inequalities in perceived control over life outcomes and personal connections to the job.

In introducing the special issue, Society in the Classroom: Multilevel Perspectives on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Education, we begin by challenging the assumption that educational institutions are neutral sites merely reflecting socioeconomic inequalities that originate beyond them. Instead, we consider how socioeconomic disparities and biases pervade educational settings and may be perpetuated by the very function of privileging particular standards and practices, a function that is central to institutions serving the dominant societal classes. Compiled 20 years after the last time the Journal of Social Issues focused on the psychology of social class in the context of education, this issue takes stock of research on this topic with a focus on approaches that go beyond the individual level of analysis. Although research reported in the issue is predominantly conducted with majority ethnic samples in the United States and Western Europe, it engages with intersectional concerns by attending to power and interlocking processes of oppression.

Socioeconomic and ethnicity-based achievement gaps plague education. Both sociological theories and recent social-psychological work consider cultural mismatches between schools’ and students’ ways of being and relating (i.e., self-construal) as a potential mechanism. However, stringent empirical evidence remains lacking. Drawing on a sample of 5076 Belgian adolescents, this study aims to provide rigorous and robust novel evidence by (i) establishing high SES and ethnic majority group average patterns of self in relation to their teacher; (ii) calculating students’ ‘fit’ with these dominant group's patterns; and (iii) linking fit indices to objective and subjective achievement scores. As expected, fit with both high-SES and ethnic majority self-patterns were significantly positively related to achievement. Our findings suggest hitherto less visible systemic barriers to equal attainment due to engrained school practices that selectively value and reward majority middle-class self-ways. One way to promote equity in education is recognising and reforming such practices in schools.

The Covid-19 outbreak forced families and teachers to use digital technology to support students to engage in distance learning at home. According to their social class, families’ digital equipment, competences and uses vary markedly, which in turn, impacts children's academic achievement. Social class has also a great influence on cultural and parental practices at home, as well as on parental self-efficacy regarding supporting children's academic achievement. The present study investigated whether, within a single model, structural factors, including home environment, cultural capital, and digital capital, contribute both directly and indirectly (via parental self-efficacy) to the development of academic inequalities during homework. As predicted, analyses showed that families from working-class backgrounds are less equipped and feel less competent in digital technology as compared to families from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. Our findings also showed that families’ social class is a significant predictor of cultural capital and parental self-efficacy which in turn contributes to educational inequalities in achievement. Future studies should delve deeper into the role of parental practices and their involvement, during homework, to educational inequalities.

In seven studies, this research demonstrates that both the general public and educators may hold culturally-shared, class stereotype-laden mental representations that they reflexively use both to subjectively identify particular students as being high or low in academic ability, and determine who should receive educational support. Using procedures designed to capture people's mental images of others, we first observed that both the general public and aspiring educators mentally represent low-ability students as qualitatively and quantitatively distinct from high-ability students. Furthermore, the representations of low (vs. high) ability students captured from the public and aspiring educators were more likely to be associated with negative class-based academic stereotypes by separate samples of the public and educators, such that a student who “looks” low in ability was also more likely to be labeled as being low-SES, and having poorer academic motivation and work ethic. As a result, the low (vs. high) ability student was more likely to be denied college admissions or scholarship support by members of the American public and to be exposed to unsupportive instructional practices by teachers. Implications for our understanding of teacher biases are discussed.

Research into the relation between occupational aspirations and academic achievement has substantially grown. What remains unclear, however, is whether and how this relation, including the direction of effects, (1) unfolds dynamically in middle childhood and adolescence and (2) varies by socioeconomic status (SES). The present study aimed to address this, using the contemporary and nationally representative data from England through the UK's Millennium Cohort Study (Analytic N = 5517) and applying random intercept cross-lagged panel modelling. Results showed that achievement unidirectionally and positively predicted aspirations in middle childhood. Achievement and aspirations predicted each other cyclically in adolescence, although their magnitudes varied. Moderation analysis demonstrated that this cyclical relation in adolescence was only significant amongst high and medium SES groups. For the low SES group, aspirations did not significantly predict achievement at any age point, despite relatively high aspirations. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, especially the differential effect of occupational aspirations in driving academic outcomes by SES.

This article presents an ethnographic study conducted in French pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, investigating how education establishes and reinforces relations of sociocultural dominance. Building on Bourdieu and Passeron's concept of symbolic violence, we seek to uncover the mechanisms through which school socialization encourages the acceptance of the hierarchies it generates. The data suggest that this persuasion relies on set of interrelated processes: Schools organize the unequal profitability of family cultural practices and knowledge, obscure the realities of learning, and foster a meritocratic myth that naturalizes these inequalities. Moreover, children actively participate in their own subordination without realizing it. By documenting these processes, the study provides critical insights into how everyday schooling practices not only perpetuate social inequalities but also shape early on the idea that students form of themselves as both students and individuals and intensify concerns about self-worth.