The curvilinear effects of objective and subjective socioeconomic status on economic conservatism and welfare policy support among middle‐class Americans

Abstract We investigated the hypothesis that the effects of objective and subjective socioeconomic status on Americans' economic and political attitudes are curvilinear in nature, with middle‐status Americans being more economically conservative and more opposed to welfare than linear trends suggest. Across five studies ( N = 9307), including data from Pew Research Data and the International Social Survey Programme, we consistently found that middle‐status participants opposed welfare programs and reported being more economically conservative than linear trends indicated, such that middle‐status Americans appeared more similar to high‐status Americans than previously considered. These results indicate curvilinear effects of status and suggest that middle‐status Americans may be overlooked in research focusing on linear effects of status on political and economic attitudes. Discussion surrounds the potential explanations for these curvilinear effects and the implications of these effects on economic and political outcomes as well as research on related topics.