Study 1: 95 Princeton undergraduates Participants (Ps) read a vignette about a fictitious friend’s roommate. : Study 2: 454 Ps from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Ps read a vignette describing a fictitious co-worker, reported their target perceptions, and PWE beliefs 6 (e.g., People who fail at a job have not tried hard enough; α =.88) References 1)A lazy-poor (vs. lazy-rich) target violates expectations that the poor should work hard to escape their plight – leading to disdain. 2)A hardworking-poor (vs. hardworking-rich) target supports the idea that the poor can pull themselves up by their bootstraps – leading to reverence. 3)These effects should be more pronounced for those higher (vs. lower) in PWE beliefs. 1. Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Phillips, L. T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual review of psychology, 65, Morin, R. (2012). Rising share of Americans see conflict between rich and poor. Pew Research Center. Retrieved , from 3. Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. (2004). A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political psychology, Katz, I., & Hass, R. G. (1988). Racial ambivalence and American value conflict: Correlational and priming studies of dual cognitive structures. Journal of personality and social psychology, 55, Kay, A. C., & Jost, J. T. (2003). Complementary justice: effects of" poor but happy" and" poor but honest" stereotype exemplars on system justification and implicit activation of the justice motive. Journal of personality and social psychology, 85, McHoskey, J. W. (1994). Factor structure of the Protestant work ethic scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, Economic Inequality Contemporary American society is facing an unprecedented and growing economic divide. 1 Americans report seeing growing class conflicts, but perceptions of the rich remain stable. 2 System Justification (SJ) We are motivated to perceive existing social arrangements as fair, legitimate, and justified. 3 Poor individuals suffer material hardships that need to be “explained” to support the status quo. Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) Belief that hard work pays off (i.e., PWE beliefs) is a core tenet of the American dream. Perceptions of the poor (vs. rich) may be more polarized based on perceived work ethic. Introduction Discussion Studies 1-2 Study 3 Study 3: 109 Ps from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Ps evaluated a hypothetical job candidate’s application for an advertising position. Hypotheses Correspondence Address: When it comes to perceived work ethic, poor (vs. rich) individuals are subject to polarized evaluations. This effect is more pronounced for those high in PWE beliefs, hindering performance assessments of the poor and their job opportunities. Current and future studies are exploring these effects in the presence of system threat and control conditions, while assessing the relationship of SJ beliefs. Polarized Perceptions of Social Class Groups: Judgment of the Poor as a Product of Perceived Work Ethic and Work Ethic Beliefs Alex C. Huynh 1, Hilary B. Bergsieker 1, Ann Marie T. Russell 2, Susan T. Fiske 2 1 University of Waterloo, Canada, 2 Princeton University “…Your friend’s roommate comes from a very [low- income/affluent] family. You also learn that the roommate [does not seem/seems] like a hard- working person…” Ps rated their perceptions of the target’s: 1)Warmth (1-9 scale) – (e.g., likeable, cold R ; α =.89) 2)Competence (1-9 scale) – (e.g., clever, incompetent R ; α =.88) *** 3-way: t(444) = 1.82, p = way: p = way: n.s. 3-way: t(444) = 2.08, p = way: p =.0162-way: n.s. Greater derogation of disadvantaged groups 4 Lower desire to justify the status quo 5 ** all results control for P’s self-reported social class and political orientation “… your co-worker, "M", comes from a very [affluent/low-income] family background….M [is/is not] a very hard-working person and has notably [high/low] work ethic…” * * *** ** Applications consisted of: 1.Poor/Rich background description 2.Lazy/Hardworking motivation description 3.Sample advertising ideas Ps assessed the candidate’s: 1.Advertising ideas (1-10 scale) (e.g., clever, creative, dull R, boring R ; α =.90) 2. Hiring Potential (1-9 scale) (e.g., potential, personality, desirability; α =.93) * *** This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.