Prior correlational research demonstrated that in a society with high income inequality, people are more likely to seek high status. The present study aimed to establish a causal relation between income inequality and status seeking by investigating the effects of perceived income inequality on the pursuit of positional goods. Moreover, we investigated whether the relation between perceived income inequality and the pursuit of positional goods is moderated by subjective social status. We manipulated high versus low income inequality and found that perceived income inequality increased the pursuit of positional goods among participants with low social status, but not among participants with high social status. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

中文翻译：

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感知到的收入不平等增加了低社会阶层个人的地位寻求

先前的相关研究表明，在收入不平等程度很高的社会中，人们更有可能寻求更高的地位。本研究旨在通过调查感知收入不平等对地位商品追求的影响，建立收入不平等与地位寻求之间的因果关系。此外，我们调查了感知收入不平等与追求地位商品之间的关系是否受到主观社会地位的调节。我们操纵了高收入和低收入不平等，发现感知的收入不平等增加了社会地位低的参与者对地位商品的追求，但社会地位高的参与者却没有。讨论了研究结果的理论和实践意义。