Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
"The Politics of Inequality and the Inequality of Politics" symposium took place at SPSP's 16th Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. This presentation is the second of four presentations in the symposium. The presentation is titled "The Undervalued Self: Social Class Rank and Political Action" given by Michael Kraus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In this research we use correlational and experimental evidence to test the prediction that perceptions of low status in the social class hierarchy decrease political self-efficacy and engagement in political action. In Study 1, university students who reported lower perceptions of social class rank tended to vote less in university elections. In Studies 2 and 3, participants exposed to a manipulation of lower social class rank reported reduced political influence and intentions to join a union of online survey workers relative to participants manipulated to think of themselves as higher in social class. In Study 4, the association between lower social class rank and reduced political action was mediated by perceptions of political self-efficacy. Together, these findings highlight the fundamental role that self-evaluative processes play in leading low status members of society to withdraw from the political system and fight less for their own social and economic interests.
"The Politics of Inequality and the Inequality of Politics" symposium took place at SPSP's 16th Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. This presentation is the second of four presentations in the symposium. The presentation is titled "The Undervalued Self: Social Class Rank and Political Action" given by Michael Kraus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In this research we use correlational and experimental evidence to test the prediction that perceptions of low status in the social class hierarchy decrease political self-efficacy and engagement in political action. In Study 1, university students who reported lower perceptions of social class rank tended to vote less in university elections. In Studies 2 and 3, participants exposed to a manipulation of lower social class rank reported reduced political influence and intentions to join a union of online survey workers relative to participants manipulated to think of themselves as higher in social class. In Study 4, the association between lower social class rank and reduced political action was mediated by perceptions of political self-efficacy. Together, these findings highlight the fundamental role that self-evaluative processes play in leading low status members of society to withdraw from the political system and fight less for their own social and economic interests.
