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Thinking Structurally: A Cognitive Framework for Understanding How People Attribute Inequality to Structural Causes.

Jamie Amemiya1, Elizabeth Mortenson2, Gail D Heyman1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science
|August 18, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Understanding social inequalities requires recognizing structural causes, which are societal forces impacting groups. People perceive these causes when they demonstrably improve outcomes for disadvantaged groups.

Keywords:
causal inferenceinequalitystructural causes

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Causal Inference

Background:

  • Social group inequalities are often attributed to individual or intrinsic factors.
  • Structural causes, defined as stable societal forces, systematically advantage or disadvantage groups but are often overlooked in causal attributions.
  • Accurate causal inferences about social inequalities necessitate considering these broader structural influences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel cognitive framework for understanding how individuals attribute social inequalities to structural causes.
  • To identify specific types of evidence that support the recognition of structural factors as causal.
  • To examine barriers that may impede the perception and acceptance of structural causes.

Main Methods:

  • The study is rooted in counterfactual theories of causal judgment.
  • It proposes two key types of evidence for inferring structural causality: within-group change and well-matched between-group comparisons.
  • The framework also considers contextual, cognitive, and motivational factors influencing these inferences.

Main Results:

  • Structural factors are recognized as causal when perceived as 'difference-making' for inequality, beyond intrinsic causes.
  • Within-group change (e.g., disadvantaged group improvement with better societal conditions) supports structural attributions.
  • Well-matched between-group comparisons (e.g., similar individuals facing different societal conditions) also bolster inferences about structural causality.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed cognitive framework offers a structured approach to understanding attributions of social inequality.
  • Identifying specific evidential cues and barriers can enhance research on how people perceive structural causes.
  • Future research can apply this framework to investigate causal inferences about group-based disparities.