Abstract:
How do people estimate the income that is needed to be rich? Two correlative survey studies (Study 1 and 2, N = 568) and one registered experimental study (Study 3, N = 500) examined the cognitive mechanisms that are used to derive an answer to this question. We tested whether individuals use their personal income (PI) as a self-generated anchor to derive an estimate of the income needed to be rich (= income wealth threshold estimation, IWTE). On a bivariate level, we found the expected positive relationship between one\'s PI and IWTE and, in line with previous findings, we found that people do not consider themselves rich. Furthermore, we predicted that individuals additionally use information about their social status within their social circles to make an IWTE. The findings from study 2 support this notion and show that only self-reported high-income individuals show different IWTEs depending on relative social status: Individuals in this group who self-reported a high status produced higher IWTEs than individuals who self-reported low status. The registered experimental study could not replicate this pattern robustly, although the results trended non-significantly in the same direction. Together, the findings revealed that the income of individuals as well as the social environment are used as sources of information to make IWTE judgements, although they are likely not the only important predictors.
摘要:
人们如何估计富裕所需的收入?两项相关调查研究(研究1和2,N=568)和一项注册实验研究(研究3,N=500)研究了用于得出该问题答案的认知机制。我们测试了个人是否使用其个人收入(PI)作为自我生成的锚来得出对富裕所需收入的估计(=收入财富阈值估计,IWTE)。在双变量水平上,我们发现一个人的PI和IWTE之间存在预期的正相关关系,根据以前的发现,我们发现人们不认为自己富有。此外,我们预测,个人在社交圈中还会使用有关其社会地位的信息来制作IWTE。研究2的发现支持了这一观点,并表明只有自我报告的高收入个体根据相对社会地位表现出不同的IWTE:自我报告的高地位个体比自我报告的低地位个体产生的IWTE更高。注册的实验研究无法稳健地复制这种模式,尽管结果在同一方向上没有显着趋势。一起,调查结果显示,个人的收入以及社会环境被用作做出IWTE判断的信息来源,尽管它们可能不是唯一重要的预测因素。