Lay beliefs about social class and rationality

Human behavior arises from the interplay between deliberation and intuition, yet laypersons often perceive rationality and emotion as antagonistic forces shaping these actions. This research investigates the tendency to use social class as a cue for inferring reliance on rationality versus emotion. Across seven studies, we consistently observed that people attribute greater rationality to upper-class individuals compared to lower-class counterparts. This effect persists across varied operationalizations of social class and multiple measurement approaches. Further examination of its implications revealed that these perceptions influence moral judgments. Specifically, prosocial actions by upper-class individuals are more likely to be attributed to rationality, leading to perceptions of them as less moral than lower-class individuals performing similar acts. Conversely, unethical conduct by upper-class actors is often interpreted as rational decision-making, mitigating perceived immorality compared to comparable transgressions by lower-class individuals. These findings advance understanding of social class stereotypes and their role in shaping moral evaluations.