Upward Social Mobility and Discrimination Beliefs, Stereotyping, and Support for Social Policies

• In Event: 154 - Regular Session. Public Opinion

Abstract

We examine the association between experiencing upward social mobility and beliefs about success, internal vs. external attribution for racial differences in socioeconomic status, prejudice towards Blacks, and support for social policies designed to assist disadvantaged groups. We predict a process by which experiencing upward social mobility shapes beliefs about opportunities and discrimination (high opportunity, low discrimination), makes people more likely to attribute disadvantage to internal factors, makes people more likely to stereotype disadvantaged groups, and lowers support for policies designed to assist disadvantaged groups. We hypothesize that upwardly mobiles are more politically and racially conservative than stables in both their class of destination and their class of origin, arguing that the experience of mobility, rather than socialization into class of destination, influences political and racial attitudes. We find that experiencing upward social mobility is associated with believing that getting ahead is the result of hard work alone, rather than hard work and luck; with believing that internal rather than external factors are the cause of racial differences; with prejudice towards Blacks; and with lower support for welfare. We also find that higher social classes report more progressive political and racial attitudes than lower classes. Our findings lend support to the idea that mobility effects, rather than socialization effects, matter in the association between mobility and political and racial attitudes. Our findings suggest the change in political attitudes is not due to resocialization into a new class, but rather results from common psychological processes attached to the experience of upward mobility.

Authors

• Elizabeth Sarah Zack, Indiana University

• John Coutley, Indiana University