Patrick Ghougassian Thought paper 6 Dr.

Ghavami

1. In Kraus research, we can identify the following research questions: a. What processes shape the social class of an individual? b. What contrasts the material (objective) possessions of a person, to the subjective perception of its social class? c. How does the self-perceived social rank impact the persons social identity and behavior? The articles finds that social class is constituted via two processes. First, we have an individuals objective social class, such as income, home value, educational attainment, occupational status, etc. From an individuals objective social class, the individual forms class-related signals, and this leads to a persons subjective perception of itself; the individual perceives themselves as either part of the higher-class or lower-class (the study doesnt mention the in-between, but makes rooms for it.) Implications. (1) Interestingly, the study shows that a persons self-perceived social rank influences its behavior, even if that persons objective social rank doesnt reflect it. In other words, the subjective self-perception is critical in shaping the individuals

social identity, and this is independent of the actual objective resources an individual has. A person who views themselves subjectively as part of the upper class have better psychological health and well-being than a person who see themselves in the lower class, even if that person is in fact poor. (2) When one perceives themselves as part of the lower class, they focus their attention on their outside environment, they are in a sense more social than the people in the upper class. They engage more towards others, they pay more attention to others emotions, and they give more to society (for example, in charity.) Similarly, people who perceive themselves in the upper class focus their perception on their self-interest. They care less about other people in society, they pay less attention to others emotions and give less to charity (for example).

2. The article is very interesting in that it distinguishes between objective and subjective social class. Growing up, even thought my social class was well above my peers objectively, I showed symptoms of lower class. I paid more attention to my outside environment, I felt insecure and not in control. Today, even thought my objective resources are limited and not in my control, I do feel higher because subjectively I feel in control. Here are a few examples. a. I dont have to work to make ends meet, and even though at the end of the day I dont have much, this makes me feel

comfortable, and the feeling of comfort makes me feel better about my social rank. b. Even though I dont own resources, I see many opportunities ahead of me, this makes me feel subjectively higher in society. c. I dont feel the need to pay extra attention to peoples needs around me, or stress about it like I did growing up, even to the people who financially support me. I have confidence in my security, and this feeling of confidence makes me feel less part of the lower-class.