Subjective status and perceived legitimacy across countries

Abstract

The relationships between subjective status and perceived legitimacy are important for understanding the extent to which people with low status are complicit in their oppression. We use novel data from 66 samples and 30 countries (N = 12,788) and find that people with higher status see the social system as more legitimate than those with lower status, but there is variation across people and countries. The association between subjective status and perceived legitimacy was never negative at any levels of eight moderator variables, although the positive association was sometimes reduced. Although not always consistent with hypotheses, group identification, self-esteem, and beliefs in social mobility were all associated with perceived legitimacy among people who have low subjective status. These findings enrich our understanding of the relationship between social status and legitimacy.

Keywords: legitimacy; social identity; status; system justification.

FIGURE 1

Correlations (above the diagonal) and density plots (below the diagonal) between subjective status, sense of power, and the outcome variables. All variables were country‐mean‐centered before calculating the correlations. Density plots for each individual variable are on the diagonal. Density plots are a variant of a histogram. The area below the diagonal uses density plots between two variables. SJ = System Justification, Trust = Trust in Government, Confid = Confidence in Societal Institutions, Legit = Legitimacy of the status hierarchy [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIGURE 2

Estimated slopes of subjective status for each country from the multilevel model. Dots are randomly jittered horizontally to help show the data.

FIGURE 3

Correlations (above the diagonal) and density plots (below the diagonal) between primary predictor variables and the individual level variables. All variables were country‐mean centered before calculating the correlations. Density plots for each individual variable are on the diagonal. ID = Group identification; SelfEst = Self‐esteem; SocMob = Social mobility; ConInqu = Contribution to inequality; Stable = Stability of the status hierarchy [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIGURE 4

Panel A: Effects of subjective status and group identification on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Panel B: Marginal effect of subjective status on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of group identification (x‐axis). Panel C: Marginal effect of group identification on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of subjective status (x‐axis). For both Panels B and C, the grey band around the slope is the 95% confidence interval. In all panels a null effect is highlighted with the dashed line

FIGURE 5

Effects of subjective status and self‐esteem on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. A null effect is highlighted with the dashed line

FIGURE 6

Effects of subjective status and contributing to inequality on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. A null effect is highlighted with the dashed line

FIGURE 7

Panel A: Effects of subjective status and civil liberties on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Panel B: Marginal effect of subjective status on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of civil liberties (x‐axis). The grey band around the slope is the 95% confidence interval. In all panels a null effect is highlighted with the dashed line. See footnote 13 for outlier explanation [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIGURE 8

Effects of subjective status and meritocracy on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. A null effect is highlighted with the dashed line

FIGURE 9

Effects of subjective status and inequality on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. A null effect is highlighted with the dashed line. See footnote 13 for outlier explanation [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIGURE 10

Panel A: Effects of subjective status and stability of the subjective status hierarchy on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Panel B: Marginal effect of subjective status on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of stability (x‐axis). Panel C: Marginal effect of stability on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of subjective status (x‐axis). For Panels B and C the grey band around the slope is the 95% confidence interval. In all panels a null effect is highlighted with the dashed line

FIGURE 11

Panel A: Effects of subjective status and social mobility on perceived legitimacy. Covariates are included in the model. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Panel B: Marginal effect of social mobility on perceived legitimacy (y‐axis) across the range of subjective status (x‐axis). For Panel B, the grey band around the slope is the 95% confidence interval. In all panels a null effect is highlighted with the dashed line