Income inequality, perceived competitiveness, and approach-avoidance motivation

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Scholarly debate exists on whether income inequality incentivizes or disincentivizes individuals.
• Existing research often overlooks the specific motivational pathways influenced by economic disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the motivational processes linking income inequality to individual economic goals and orientations.
• To examine how income inequality influences perceived competitiveness and subsequent approach/avoidance motivations.

Main Methods:

• Three studies involving 2,543 U.S. residents across diverse ZIP codes.
• Data collection included perceptions of local income inequality and competitiveness, economic achievement goals, achievement motives, and self-regulatory foci.

Main Results:

• Higher local income inequality positively predicted perceived competitiveness.
• Perceived competitiveness mediated the relationship between income inequality and both approach (e.g., achievement goals, promotion focus) and avoidance (e.g., fear of failure, prevention focus) motivations.
• Actual and perceived income inequality showed a positive correlation.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to empirically demonstrate how the economic environment shapes individual perceptions of competitiveness.
• These perceptions, in turn, influence personal goals, motives, and orientations, providing a more nuanced understanding of income inequality's effects.