Sing Along with the Common People: Experimental Study of Contact Across Socioeconomic Groups and Prosocial Behavior

• In Event: Political, Social, and Welfare Consequences of Economic Inequality (Co-sponsored by Political Sociology Section)

Abstract

Taking advantage of the analytical leverage provided by the Chilean tuition-free waiver policy, this study examines the effects of cross-socioeconomic contact on prosocial behavior among university students. Relying on a pre-registered lab-in-the-field experiment, students were randomly assigned to socioeconomically homogeneous or heterogeneous groups to complete a collaborative task, followed by behavioral games measuring cooperation and generosity. The findings reveal that the effect of exposure to socioeconomic heterogeneity on prosocial behavior varies by the participants’ socioeconomic status and that of their counterpart’s: while exposure to status diversity increased ingroup prosociality for participants from lower status households, it significantly decreased outgroup prosociality for those from higher status backgrounds. Additionally, these effects are shown to be moderated by personal network diversity and subjective social status. These results highlight the complex role of socioeconomic hierarchies in shaping intergroup dynamics, challenging claims that exposure to socioeconomic diversity or outgroup contact can foster positive social outcomes. The study suggests that policies aimed at reducing socioeconomic segregation and promoting cohesion must consider the highly interdependent nature of social relationships and analytically account for the specificities of interactional settings to be effective.

Author

• Bernardo Mackenna, Stanford University