Social Psychology of Inequality

Jolanda Jetten is internationally recognized for her work on group processes and social identity. She has published extensively in high impact international journals (over 150 peer-reviewed articles). She has contributed 35 chapters to edited books and published 4 books. Jolanda is the former co-Chief Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology and currently serves as co-Chief Editor of Social Issues and Policy Review. She has served as an Associate Editor for the British Journal of Social Psychology, and for Social Psychology and is currently an associate editor with Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology. In 2004, she was awarded the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal, singling her out as the most distinguished mid-career psychologist in the UK for published psychological work of outstanding merit. She was awarded the mid-career Kurt Lewin Medal from the European Association of Social Psychology in 2014. Jolanda is the former President of the Society of Australasian Social Psychology (SASP) and served on the ARC College of Experts. She was elected as fellow of the Association of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) in 2015, and is currently Director of the Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN) at the University of Queensland. Kim Peters is Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology and Director of the Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on social influence processes (including communication and leadership) in social and organizational settings. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals in social psychology and management science. She has also contributed to 12 edited books and produced 13 industry reports for a range of partners including the European Parliament and Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Kim works closely with organisations to examine the role of psychological factors in organisational functioning and design evidence-based interventions. Recent clients include Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the British Medical Association.

• 1.   Putting a social psychological spotlight on economic inequality.- Section 1: Inequality in organizational contexts.- 2. Fat cats and thin followers: Excessive CEO pay may reduce ability to lead.- 3. Gender inequality in economic resources.- 4. Societal income inequality and coping with work-related economic stressors: A resource perspective.- 5. A rising tide lifts few boats but leaves behind many others: The harms of inequality-induced status seeking and the remedial effects of employee ownership.- Section 2: Inequality in educational contexts.- 6. Social class differences in social integration at university: Implications for academic outcomes and mental health.- 7. Educational Inequalities: The social and cultural factors and social identity processes that underpin educational inequalities between social classes.- 8. The paradoxical role of meritocratic selection in the perpetuation of social inequalities at school.- 9. Education and social class: Highlighting how the educational system perpetuates social inequality.- Section 3: Consequences of inequality on preferences and behaviours.- 10. The psychological consequences of inequality for food intake.- 11. Income inequality and women’s competition: Implications for consumption, status-seeking and self-sexualization.- 12. Developmental perspectives on economic inequality.- 13. Inequality and risk-taking behaviours.- 14. Inequality from the bottom up: Psychological consequences of being poor in a rich country.- Section 4: Why does inequality have these negative outcomes?.- 15. Income inequality and social status: The social rank and material rank hypotheses.- 16. Identifying the psychological mechanism(s) underlying the effects of inequality on society: The Macro-micro model of Inequality and RElative Deprivation (MIRED).- 17. Social inequality and status stress.- 18. Do people want more wealth and status in unequal societies?.- 19. Inequality and class consciousness.- Section 5: Why and how is inequality maintained?.- 20. The language of inequality.- 21. Mutual status stereotypes maintain inequality.- 22. Everything in its right place: Tradition, order, and the legitimation of longstanding inequality.- 23. Understanding the nature and consequences of social mobility beliefs.- 24. Social sampling, perceptions of wealth distribution and support for redistribution.