A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy
Why are people motivated to support social systems that claim to distribute resources based on hard work and effort, even when those systems seem unfair? Recent research on compensatory control shows that lowered perceptions of personal control motivate a greater endorsement of external systems (e.g...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/372 |
| _version_ | 1828076365048446976 |
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| author | Chris Goode Lucas A. Keefer Ludwin E. Molina |
| author_facet | Chris Goode Lucas A. Keefer Ludwin E. Molina |
| author_sort | Chris Goode |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Why are people motivated to support social systems that claim to distribute resources based on hard work and effort, even when those systems seem unfair? Recent research on compensatory control shows that lowered perceptions of personal control motivate a greater endorsement of external systems (e.g., God, government) that compensate for a lack of personal control. The present studies demonstrate that U.S. citizens’ faith in a popular economic ideology, namely the belief that hard work guarantees success (i.e., meritocracy), similarly increases under conditions of decreased personal control. We found that a threat to personal control increased participants’ endorsement of meritocracy (Studies 1 and 2). Additionally, lowered perceptions of control led to increased feelings of anxiety regarding the future, but the subsequent endorsement of (Study 2) or exposure to (Study 3) meritocracy attenuated this effect. While the compensatory use of meritocracy may be a phenomenon unique to the United States of America, these studies provide important insight into the appeal and persistence of ideologies in general. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:14:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07b9ac34a69a46c19d4043aaf340f53c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2195-3325 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:14:38Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-07b9ac34a69a46c19d4043aaf340f53c2023-01-03T01:25:35ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyJournal of Social and Political Psychology2195-33252014-12-012131333410.5964/jspp.v2i1.372jspp.v2i1.372A Compensatory Control Account of MeritocracyChris Goode0Lucas A. Keefer1Ludwin E. Molina2Psychology Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USAPsychology Department, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USAPsychology Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USAWhy are people motivated to support social systems that claim to distribute resources based on hard work and effort, even when those systems seem unfair? Recent research on compensatory control shows that lowered perceptions of personal control motivate a greater endorsement of external systems (e.g., God, government) that compensate for a lack of personal control. The present studies demonstrate that U.S. citizens’ faith in a popular economic ideology, namely the belief that hard work guarantees success (i.e., meritocracy), similarly increases under conditions of decreased personal control. We found that a threat to personal control increased participants’ endorsement of meritocracy (Studies 1 and 2). Additionally, lowered perceptions of control led to increased feelings of anxiety regarding the future, but the subsequent endorsement of (Study 2) or exposure to (Study 3) meritocracy attenuated this effect. While the compensatory use of meritocracy may be a phenomenon unique to the United States of America, these studies provide important insight into the appeal and persistence of ideologies in general.http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/372meritocracycompensatory controlideologysystem justificationsocial mobility |
| spellingShingle | Chris Goode Lucas A. Keefer Ludwin E. Molina A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy Journal of Social and Political Psychology meritocracy compensatory control ideology system justification social mobility |
| title | A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy |
| title_full | A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy |
| title_fullStr | A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy |
| title_short | A Compensatory Control Account of Meritocracy |
| title_sort | compensatory control account of meritocracy |
| topic | meritocracy compensatory control ideology system justification social mobility |
| url | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/372 |
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