Investigator: Professors Jacob Shane (former graduate student, now Assistant Professor at CUNY, Brooklyn)

There is an abundance of empirical evidence indicating that where people stand in the social hierarchy, or their socioeconomic status (SES), affects their health and well-being. These social inequalities in health are not solely due to differences in material wealth and access to medical care, they may also be due to psychological effects associated with SES. However, in order to understand how SES may have psychological effects, we first need to understand what people think about SES: what it is, how it affects individuals, and what its causes are. The current line of research is devoted to understanding these issues, and in so doing views laypersons’ conceptions about SES as a developmental process not a stable trait associated with a demographic characteristic. Of particular interest is the transitional period in late adolescence and early adulthood when an individual’s perception of SES as initially based on his or her family background, and later on his/her goals for their own personal SES-related attainments. This transition probably takes place during postsecondary education and initial career-related employment. The current line of research includes a study examining university students’ conceptions of SES, and response to relative SES, that is being lower or higher in social status than someone else. Another study currently underway addresses the processes of personal SES development and perception in young adults.