Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology (Jan 2022)
Individual, group, and temporal perspectives on the link between wealth and realistic threat
- Göksu Celikkol,
- Tuuli Anna Renvik,
- Florencia M. Sortheix,
- Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti,
- Jolanda Jetten,
- Amarina Ariyanto,
- Frédérique Autin,
- Nadia Ayub,
- Constantina Badea,
- Tomasz Besta,
- Fabrizio Butera,
- Rui Costa-Lopes,
- Lijuan Cui,
- Carole Fantini,
- Gillian Finchilescu,
- Lowell Gaertner,
- Mario Gollwitzer,
- Ángel Gómez,
- Roberto González,
- Ying Yi Hong,
- Dorthe Høj Jensen,
- Minoru Karasawa,
- Thomas Kessler,
- Olivier Klein,
- Marcus Lima,
- Laura Megevand,
- Thomas Morton,
- Paola Paladino,
- Tibor Polya,
- Aleksejs Ruza,
- Wan Shahrazad,
- Sushama Sharma,
- Heather J. Smith,
- Ana Raquel Torres,
- Anne Marthe van der Bles,
- Michael J.A. Wohl
Affiliations
- Göksu Celikkol
- University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Corresponding author: Faculty of Social Sciences, Unit of Social Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
- Tuuli Anna Renvik
- University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Florencia M. Sortheix
- University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti
- University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Jolanda Jetten
- University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Amarina Ariyanto
- University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Frédérique Autin
- University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Nadia Ayub
- Institute of Business Management, Karachi, Pakistan
- Constantina Badea
- Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Paris, France
- Tomasz Besta
- University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
- Fabrizio Butera
- University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Rui Costa-Lopes
- University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- Lijuan Cui
- East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Carole Fantini
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Gillian Finchilescu
- University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Lowell Gaertner
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Mario Gollwitzer
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany
- Ángel Gómez
- UNED, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
- Roberto González
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Ying Yi Hong
- Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Dorthe Høj Jensen
- Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Minoru Karasawa
- Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- Thomas Kessler
- University of Jena, Jena, Thuringia, Germany
- Olivier Klein
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Marcus Lima
- Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil
- Laura Megevand
- ISCTE—University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- Thomas Morton
- University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Paola Paladino
- University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Tibor Polya
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Aleksejs Ruza
- Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
- Wan Shahrazad
- National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
- Sushama Sharma
- Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
- Heather J. Smith
- Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, United States of America
- Ana Raquel Torres
- Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Anne Marthe van der Bles
- University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
- Michael J.A. Wohl
- Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 3
p. 100054
Abstract
In this 28-country study (N = 6112), we assessed how subjective perceptions and objective indicators of wealth were associated with majority group members’ perceptions of realistic threat related to immigration. Subjective wealth was assessed by individuals’ perceptions of their personal wealth (current/anticipated) and of their country´s wealth, whereas objective country-level wealth was assessed by GDP and HDI. Multilevel analyses showed that living in a country with a lower objective wealth and perceiving the country's relative wealth as low were associated with higher levels of perceived realistic threat. We also found that an anticipated decrease in personal wealth in the future was associated with higher threat perceptions only in low HDI countries. Our results suggest that perceived realistic threat is fostered by a perceived decline in the current wealth of the country, and country-level wealth may play a role in calibrating threat responses to anticipated personal wealth.
