The Psychology of Distinction: How Cultural Tastes Shape Class Perception and Impression Formation in the United States

• In Event: 124 - Section on Sociology of Culture Paper Session. Grit, Luck, Warmth, and the Irrational: Frontiers for Theorizing Culture

Abstract

This paper draws on a survey experiment of 1,520 U.S. residents to estimate the causal effect that signals of taste in music, sports, and food have on attributions of social class, competence, and warmth. In doing so, it tests three competing theories in the sociology of culture. Respectively, these theories posit that the United States is characterized by a system of (1) cultural hierarchy (2) cultural omnivorousness, and (3) cultural laissez-faire. Results reveal that U.S. residents do judge others on the basis of their cultural tastes, attributing a higher class position and greater levels of competence to individuals with highbrow tastes, particularly highbrow univores. Yet, signals of cultural taste have no significant effect on perceptions of an individual’s warmth. Together, these findings lend support to both theories of cultural hierarchy and a cultural laissez-faire in the U.S. A secondary analysis also reveals that the effects of musical taste on social perceptions are almost twice those of taste in sports or food. In sum, the hierarchies of taste we uncover in the U.S. are contingent not only upon the qualities being judged but also upon the cultural domains we observe.

Author

• Kyla Thomas, Princeton University