How social-class stereotypes maintain inequality
Open accessAbstract
Social class stereotypes support inequality through various routes: ambivalent content, early appearance in children, achievement consequences, institutionalization in education, appearance in cross-class social encounters, and prevalence in the most unequal societies. Class-stereotype content is ambivalent, describing lower-SES people both negatively (less competent, less human, more objectified), and sometimes positively, perhaps warmer than upper-SES people. Children acquire the wealth aspects of class stereotypes early, which become more nuanced with development. In school, class stereotypes advantage higher-SES students, and educational contexts institutionalize social-class distinctions. Beyond school, well-intentioned face-to-face encounters ironically draw on stereotypes to reinforce the alleged competence of higher-status people and sometimes the alleged warmth of lower-status people. Countries with more inequality show more of these ambivalent stereotypes of both lower-SES and higher-SES people. At a variety of levels and life stages, social-class stereotypes reinforce inequality, but constructive contact can undermine them; future efforts need to address high-status privilege and to query more heterogeneous samples.
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Wealthier people are stereotyped as intelligent and better educated, therefore, more capable than poorer people of lower SES or class.
“In terms of SES or social class, for example, wealthier people are stereotyped as intelligent and better educated, therefore, more capable than poorer people of lower SES or class.26”
From Health professionals implicit bias of patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) and its effects on clinical decision-making: a scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
The Social-Class Stereotype Content section says high-SES people are attributed intelligence and rich people are stereotyped as more competent than poor people. The Academic Consequences section likewise says rich people are stereotyped as intelligent. Our copy does not establish the additional claim that wealthy people are stereotyped as better educated. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe intersectional interaction between different factors is arguably a reflection of the continuous nature of perceived warmth and capability matrix as previously described in the SCM, but the outcome for the patient can be bleaker when racial and class biases stereotypes overlap.
“The intersectional interaction between different factors is arguably a reflection of the continuous nature of perceived warmth and capability matrix as previously described in the SCM, but the outcome for the patient can be bleaker when racial and class biases stereotypes overlap.26”
From Health professionals implicit bias of patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) and its effects on clinical decision-making: a scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable, 1 not checked. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSES can be signalled in many ways, the way a person dresses, their mannerisms or their accent and these cues lead to behaviour changes that impact on the interaction between people.
“SES can be signalled in many ways, the way a person dresses, their mannerisms or their accent and these cues lead to behaviour changes that impact on the interaction between people.26”
From Health professionals implicit bias of patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) and its effects on clinical decision-making: a scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
Warmth is evaluated first because it predicts future behaviour; capability is judged more slowly as it reflects the other person's ability to act competently.
“Warmth is evaluated first because it predicts future behaviour; capability is judged more slowly as it reflects the other person’s ability to act competently.26”
From Health professionals implicit bias of patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) and its effects on clinical decision-making: a scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
The Social-Class Stereotype Content and Social-Class Stereotypes’ Academic Consequences sections discuss warmth, trustworthiness, and competence as stereotype dimensions. Neither those passages nor searches for evaluation order, future behaviour, and slower capability judgments address the claimed timing or its explanation. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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References 60 · Cited by 230
Research works printed but not linked: 25
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- Authors
- Durante, F., & Fiske, S. T.
- Affiliations
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fiske, Susan T
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 18
- Pages
- 43-48
- ISSN
- 2352-250X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6020691
- OpenAlex
- W2744602124
- Cited by
- 230
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- BOA (University of Milano-Bicocca) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD047879)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Cultural Dynamics
- Keywords
- social class stereotypes, social inequality, socioeconomic status, children's social cognition, educational inequality, national inequality, objectification
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Development, Education, Humans, Social Class, Social Perception, Stereotyping
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