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Current Theorizing and Future Directions in the Social Psychology of Social Class Inequalities

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Handbook of the Social Psychology of Inequality

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

This chapter reviews current social psychological theories, conceptions, and perspectives related to social class inequalities. First, we discuss definitions of social class and argue that class is an especially powerful and pernicious form of inequality. Then, we detail the processes that develop within the three “I” levels: (I) interactions, (II) individual selves, and (III) institutions and ideology. Social psychological theorizing and research at each level (or “I”) contributes to systematically understanding how social class inequality “works” as it is produced, reproduced, and sometimes contested in interactional contexts, embedded deeply in our selves, and structured through institutions and ideologies. Within the first “I,” we focus on othering, boundary maintenance, social networks, and emotion management as key processes that shape social interactions related to social class inequalities. For the second section on individual selves, we focus on self-identities, self-evaluations, and self-presentations, paying particular attention to social comparison and reflected appraisal processes. We further theorize about how possible and probable selves and gateway interactions influence class inequality. In the third section on institutions and ideology, we focus on social structural processes in the context of family life, schools, and work. We suggest how ideological systems shape the achievement of social class statuses. We also address how social class intersects with other forms of inequalities such as gender and race. Finally, we propose four future directions in this area including examining cross-class interactions that reproduce inequalities, interactional processes in institutional context that lead to the safeguarding of status and privilege, the power of cultural ideology that influences individual understandings of the self, and the role that social change plays in shaping social class identities and relations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, 2112 Art-Sociology Bldg., 20742, College Park, MD, USA

    Melissa A. Milkie & Rashawn Ray

  2. Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education, University of Maryland, 0108AA Cole Student Activities Building, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Catharine H. Warner

Authors
  1. Melissa A. Milkie
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  2. Catharine H. Warner
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  3. Rashawn Ray
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Correspondence to Melissa A. Milkie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Jane D. McLeod

  2. Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Edward J. Lawler

  3. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, North Corolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Michael Schwalbe

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Milkie, M., Warner, C., Ray, R. (2014). Current Theorizing and Future Directions in the Social Psychology of Social Class Inequalities. In: McLeod, J., Lawler, E., Schwalbe, M. (eds) Handbook of the Social Psychology of Inequality. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9002-4_22

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