宏观阶层结构与主观阶层认同——基于调查实验法的结果

Social Structure and Subjective Class Identification-- Evidence from a Survey Experiment

已往关于主观阶层认同的文献多侧重于个人微观层面的分析,对宏观阶层结构的作用讨论有限。上海都市社区调查(SUNS)项目设计了一项调查实验,将三种典型的宏观阶层结构图片作为实验干预信息,随机发放给被访者,进而问询他们的主观阶层认同。实验结果显示,相对于“梯子型”的社会阶层结构信息,“金字塔型”和“倒丁字型”这两种更不平等的社会阶层结构信息会显著降低人们自我认定的主观社会阶层,而以中产阶层为主的“橄榄型”社会阶层结构信息则会增加人们的中间阶层认同。由此可发现,宏观阶层结构信息会影响人们对自身社会阶层的判定,对不平等的宏观阶层结构的认知将会降低人们的主观阶层认同。

Previous studies of subjective class identification tended to focus on micro-level individual factors and largely ignored perceived macro social structure.The authors investigate how perceived social structures affect people's subjective class identification in China.Based on the data from the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey(SUNS)and a survey experiment design,in which respondents were randomly presented the shape of social structures and then asked to identify their subjective class.Results show that,the perceived unequal and polarized pyramid-shaped social structure and inverted T-shaped social structure tend to lower respondents class identification,whereas to the ladder-shaped social structure.These findings suggest that people tend to identify themselves as lower social classes if they perceived social structure as being more unequal.Perceived social structure affect peoples own class identification,and the perceived more unequal social structure information lowers people's subjective social status.