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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

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Studying Socioeconomic Status: Conceptual Problems and an Alternative Path Forward.

Stephen Antonoplis¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science

|August 18, 2022

Summary

Socioeconomic status (SES) is difficult to measure due to inconsistent definitions and operationalizations in psychological research. This study proposes reconceptualizing SES as socioeconomic conditions for better measurement and cumulative research.

Keywords:

SES measurement social class socioeconomic position theory

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Area of Science:

Psychology and Social Sciences
Sociology
Measurement and Psychometrics

Background:

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a critical determinant of psychological and life outcomes.
Current conceptualizations and measurement strategies for SES in psychological research are inconsistent and problematic.
A significant majority of psychological studies (79.6%) fail to theoretically define SES, utilizing 147 diverse operationalizations.

Approach:

A comprehensive literature review of 20 years of psychological research on SES was conducted.
Analysis of current recommendations for studying SES revealed contradictory predictions and methodological limitations.
A new measurement strategy is proposed, reconceptualizing SES as a set of measurable socioeconomic conditions.

Key Points:

The conventional construct of SES is argued to be unmeasurable due to theoretical ambiguity and a proliferation of operationalizations.
Existing measurement models for SES hinder the accumulation of research findings across studies.
The proposed reconceptualization shifts focus from an abstract 'SES' to concrete 'socioeconomic conditions'.

Conclusions:

The study advocates for a paradigm shift in how socioeconomic factors are studied in psychological research.
The proposed strategy aims to improve the reliability and validity of research on socioeconomic conditions.
This approach facilitates more robust and cumulative scientific understanding of socioeconomic influences on well-being.