Yanxin Lu - 1st year PhD presentation

Supervisors: Panos Mitkidis & Christian Elbæk
Discussants: Ann-Kristina Løkke Møller & Jonas Andersen

Abstract
How do people come to perceive social and economic inequality as legitimate, acceptable, or difficult to change? This PhD project examines the role of power cues in shaping individuals’ interpretations of inequality. Rather than treating inequality perceptions as responses to objective economic differences alone, the project focuses on the social signals through which power is communicated, normalized, and made meaningful. Drawing on a scoping review of the literature on inequality cues, social class cues, system justification, attribution, and framing, the project develops a theoretical framework linking power cues to perceptions of inequality magnitude, legitimacy, and mutability. The framework distinguishes between informational, normative, institutional, and relational cues, and explains how these cues may guide people’s reasoning about why inequality exists and whether it should be accepted or challenged. The project also outlines an experimental design to test how different types of power cues influence inequality perceptions and support for redistribution. By integrating insights from power theory, social cognition, and inequality research, the project contributes to a more micro-level understanding of how inequality becomes socially interpreted and potentially legitimized.

Everyone is welcome!