How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness.
Although inequality in the US has increased since the 1960s, several studies show that Americans underestimate it. Reasons include overreliance on one's local perspective and ideologically-motivated cognition. We propose a novel mechanism to account for the misperceptions of income inequality....
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244387 |
| _version_ | 1818899674289930240 |
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| author | Abraham Aldama Cristina Bicchieri Jana Freundt Barbara Mellers Ellen Peters |
| author_facet | Abraham Aldama Cristina Bicchieri Jana Freundt Barbara Mellers Ellen Peters |
| author_sort | Abraham Aldama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although inequality in the US has increased since the 1960s, several studies show that Americans underestimate it. Reasons include overreliance on one's local perspective and ideologically-motivated cognition. We propose a novel mechanism to account for the misperceptions of income inequality. We hypothesize that compared to those who feel less autonomy, the people who believe they are autonomous and have control over their lives also believe that (1) income inequality is lower and (2) income inequality is more acceptable. Using a representative sample of 3,427 Americans, we find evidence to support these hypotheses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:51:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a4b9396edad8425ea053f5a8d442102d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:51:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a4b9396edad8425ea053f5a8d442102d2022-12-21T20:07:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01161e024438710.1371/journal.pone.0244387How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness.Abraham AldamaCristina BicchieriJana FreundtBarbara MellersEllen PetersAlthough inequality in the US has increased since the 1960s, several studies show that Americans underestimate it. Reasons include overreliance on one's local perspective and ideologically-motivated cognition. We propose a novel mechanism to account for the misperceptions of income inequality. We hypothesize that compared to those who feel less autonomy, the people who believe they are autonomous and have control over their lives also believe that (1) income inequality is lower and (2) income inequality is more acceptable. Using a representative sample of 3,427 Americans, we find evidence to support these hypotheses.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244387 |
| spellingShingle | Abraham Aldama Cristina Bicchieri Jana Freundt Barbara Mellers Ellen Peters How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. PLoS ONE |
| title | How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. |
| title_full | How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. |
| title_fullStr | How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. |
| title_full_unstemmed | How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. |
| title_short | How perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness. |
| title_sort | how perceptions of autonomy relate to beliefs about inequality and fairness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244387 |
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