Description

Lifestyle Distinction(s) and Inequality: An Experimental Approach

Models of cultural stratification in sociology highlight highbrow vs. lowbrow (e.g., opera vs. heavy metal) and omnivore vs. univore lifestyles (i.e., broad vs. narrow tastes) as crucial factors that shape social distinction. Yet, we still do not know much about how lifestyles create distinction, defined as perceptions of socioeconomic position (SEP) and personal traits (e.g., competence and taste) that lead to preferential treatment and discrimination. To fill this gap, we conducted two vignette experiments to examine the effect of lifestyles on perceptions of SEP and personal traits. First, both experiments show that people associate a highbrow or an omnivorous lifestyle with higher SEP than a lowbrow or a univorous lifestyle. The substantive effect of lifestyle is large and comparable to that of ethnic and occupational status. Second, people associate a highbrow or an omnivorous lifestyle with better personal traits than a lowbrow or a univore lifestyle, for example better taste, competence, and sociability. Third, the variance in people’s ratings of SEP, a measure of the certainty with which they link lifestyles to SEP, is lower when comparing a highbrow to a lowbrow lifestyle and an omnivorous to a univorous lifestyle. This result suggests that a highbrow or an omnivorous lifestyle demarcates social boundaries more clearly than a lowbrow and a univore lifestyle. The results corroborate theoretical arguments that lifestyles enhance inequality by signaling where you belong, who you are, and how you differ from others.

Speaker

Mads Meier Jæger is Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen. His research interests include social stratification and mobility, lifestyles, and physical attractiveness. He has published on these topics in journals such as American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, and Sociological Science.

Practical information

Languages: English
Organisers: Joint Research Centre