Cynicism Explains the Link Between Subjective Social Class and Perceived Social Support Availability

Lower social class individuals tend to report less available support than higher social class individuals. The present research investigated whether lower subjective social class (SSC) individuals may perceive less available support because they are more cynical—or believe that people generally act in their personal interest. Study 1 examined the European Social Survey (Wave 6, N = 54,673) data that assessed individual reports of SSC, cynicism, and perceived social support availability across 29 countries. Path analyses revealed that lower SSC was associated with higher levels of cynicism, which in turn was associated with lower perceived available support. Study 2 sought to replicate the cynicism pathway in the lab and additionally examine if experimentally induced feelings of respect (versus disrespect) may reduce cynicism and increase perceived support availability among lower relative to higher SSC undergraduates ( N = 246). The overall cynicism pathway was replicated, although it was not mitigated by induced feelings of respect. In both studies, the alternative model where perceived support availability explains greater cynicism among lower SSC participants received less support. Our findings preliminarily highlight cynicism as a potential psychological barrier to seeking available social support among lower SSC individuals and the need to explore ways to mitigate cynical worldviews.