Lay representations of social class: A mixed methods approach to wealth-based group perceptions and stereotypes

Abstract

People's perceptions of social classes may differ fromscholars' definitions. We used a mixed method, sensitive tocontext, to examine lay perceptions of social classes in Spain.In Study 1 (N = 90), we conducted qualitative interviews toexamine how people spontaneously characterize wealth-based groups. Participants identified between two andseven groups. We grouped these into five main analyticalcategories for analytical purposes: poor, lower andworking classes, middle classes, upper classes and rich andbeyond. These groups were described based on materialcharacteristics, traits and culture. Positive traits were mainlyassociated with non-wealthy groups, especially the lowerand working classes, while negative traits were associatedwith wealthy groups. In Studies 2 (N = 251) and 3 (N = 190),we extended these findings quantitatively, showing thatpositive stereotypes were associated with non-wealthygroups, whereas negative stereotypes were associated withwealthy groups. Using psychometric networks, non-wealthygroups were ascribed more positive traits—with someambivalences—while wealthy groups were mainly describedusing negative traits. We confirmed this pattern of resultsthrough meta-analyses. These findings highlight theimportance of lay perspectives in theoretical frameworksand the need for context-sensitive approaches in analysingsocial class representations.