Effects of the working class label: increased affect and social class identification

Abstract

Building on social identity theory and the sociocultural model of the self, we show that relatively lower-class individuals who value their social class identity (as activated by the “working class” label) experience elevated group identification and well-being. First, we found that social class identification significantly predicted self-esteem while controlling for traditional measures of social class (Study 1). Next, when primed with a working class identity, relative to a lower class identity, individuals from relatively lower-class backgrounds showed stronger group identification, endorsed more positive stereotypes about their social class group, and showed less negative affect (Studies 2a and 2b). Implications for conceptualizing social class as a valued group identity and its implications for the social class academic achievement gap are discussed.