How Causal Attributions for Income Status Moderate the Link Between Income and Subjective Well-Being

Human beings tend to seek causal explanations for whatever happens to or around them. In the present research, we examined how causal attributions for income status impact the relationships between personal income status and subjective well-being in American samples. In Study 1, participants' income-attribution types were assessed, whereas in Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions about the causes of income status: individualistic, structural vs. luck attributions. The results of both studies showed that higher income status was linked to less perceived deprivation and greater life satisfaction for participants with (or primed with) structural attributions; however, these income effects were reduced (Study 1) or insignificant (Study 2) for participants with (or primed with) individualistic attributions. Moreover, Study 2 found that the income effects were the strongest for participants primed with luck attributions among the three attribution groups. The results suggest that as the sense of control reduces, the associations between income and well-being increase. The research sheds light on how meaning systems, such as attributional beliefs, moderate people's psychological responses to income status, which could then help explain or predict different behavioural responses. The practical implications of the present research were also discussed.