Subjective economic inequality lowers the intelligence quotient of the mind, especially for people of higher social classes.

First published June 16, 2021 Research Article

https://doi.org/10.1177/194855062110240

Explanation

In five studies (three pre-registered; N= 2,481), we investigated the effects of two things.

(1) Does the ability to accurately identify emotions (mental intelligence quotient) decrease with greater subjective economic inequality? (1) Does greater subjective economic inequality reduce the ability to accurately identify emotions (mental intelligence quotient), and is greater inequality likely to make people less focused on others and less willing to correctly identify emotions?

(2) Are the effects of subjective inequality modified by its interaction with socioeconomic status (SES)? Past research has suggested that higher SES is associated with lower emotional intelligence, and that people with higher SES are less dependent on others and less motivated to identify their emotions. When perceiving higher inequality, high SES individuals should feel even more independent, thereby exacerbating the difference in emotional intelligence between low and high SES people.

Empirical support was provided for the first hypothesis in three of the five studies and for the second hypothesis in four of the five studies, and internal meta-analyses supported both hypotheses.