Tied to Reality? – A Network-Based Approach to Inequality Perceptions
About this Session
Time
Thu. 16.04. 15:55
Room
Lobby
Speaker
by Hannah Emilia Olbrich, Daniel Mayerhoffer, Marie Lou Hartmann, Jan Schulz and Margitta Grötsch
Building on previous research on social inference (Galesic, Olsson, and Rieskamp, 2012), we assume that individuals accurately observe inequality within their immediate social environments and reasonably extrapolate from these observations to form beliefs about society at large. However, the unrepresentative nature of their social network ties causes misperceptions (Schulz, Mayerhoffer, and Gebhard, 2022). Yet, the extant literature is primarily theoretical or simulation-based. This begs the question of whether one can empirically establish the link between network topology and misperceptions. To investigate this mechanism, we conducted a survey on income and wealth inequality perceptions among students at a German secondary school. The survey design is based on qualitative pilots held in February 2025 and was developed in collaboration with GESIS – the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. By including the school’s entire student population, we are able to examine interactions between age cohorts. Inspired by a recent survey experiment conducted by Behringer, Endres, and van Treeck (2024), we analyze how network position correlates with inequality misperceptions and positional preferences by using two hypothetical states of the world, as applied by Solnick and Hemenway (1998). This allows us to evaluate how and how early Veblenian status orientation is developed (Veblen, 1899). To that end, we integrate data on friendship networks with information on students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, fairness beliefs, and deservingness criteria of the rich. The design of the questions on the perceptions of economic inequality follows the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Pupils’ fairness beliefs are measured through their agreement with statements adapted from Almas et al. and Behringer et al. (Almas et al., 2024; Behringer et al., 2024). Moreover, agreement with additional statements is used to operationalize two of van Oorschot’s (2000) five deservingness criteria, considered particularly relevant in the context of wealth: control and reciprocity. This study makes several contributions by bridging research on socioeconomic stratification and social network topology, which have rarely been combined. The results suggest that misperceptions of inequality could potentially be addressed through educational interventions. Moreover, as positionality is found to shape perceptions, raising awareness of the wealth of the super-rich could heighten dissatisfaction with one’s relative position and increase support for redistributive policies, highlighting the social and political relevance of network-informed inequality perceptions.
Building on previous research on social inference (Galesic, Olsson, and Rieskamp, 2012), we assume that individuals accurately observe inequality within their immediate social environments and reasonably extrapolate from these observations to form beliefs about society at large. However, the unrepresentative nature of their social network ties causes misperceptions (Schulz, Mayerhoffer, and Gebhard, 2022). Yet, the extant literature is primarily theoretical or simulation-based. This begs the question of whether one can empirically establish the link between network topology and misperceptions. To investigate this mechanism, we conducted a survey on income and wealth inequality perceptions among students at a German secondary school. The survey design is based on qualitative pilots held in February 2025 and was developed in collaboration with GESIS – the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. By including the school’s entire student population, we are able to examine interactions between age cohorts. Inspired by a recent survey experiment conducted by Behringer, Endres, and van Treeck (2024), we analyze how network position correlates with inequality misperceptions and positional preferences by using two hypothetical states of the world, as applied by Solnick and Hemenway (1998). This allows us to evaluate how and how early Veblenian status orientation is developed (Veblen, 1899). To that end, we integrate data on friendship networks with information on students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, fairness beliefs, and deservingness criteria of the rich. The design of the questions on the perceptions of economic inequality follows the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Pupils’ fairness beliefs are measured through their agreement with statements adapted from Almas et al. and Behringer et al. (Almas et al., 2024; Behringer et al., 2024). Moreover, agreement with additional statements is used to operationalize two of van Oorschot’s (2000) five deservingness criteria, considered particularly relevant in the context of wealth: control and reciprocity. This study makes several contributions by bridging research on socioeconomic stratification and social network topology, which have rarely been combined. The results suggest that misperceptions of inequality could potentially be addressed through educational interventions. Moreover, as positionality is found to shape perceptions, raising awareness of the wealth of the super-rich could heighten dissatisfaction with one’s relative position and increase support for redistributive policies, highlighting the social and political relevance of network-informed inequality perceptions.