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The Local-Ladder Effect

Cameron Anderson¹; Michael W. Kraus²; Adam D. Galinsky³; Dacher Keltner⁴

¹ Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley · ² Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign · ³ Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University · ⁴ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley

Dozens of studies in different nations have revealed that socioeconomic status only weakly predicts an individual's subjective well-being (SWB). These results imply that although the pursuit of social status is a fundamental human motivation, achieving high status has little impact on one's SWB. However, we propose that sociometric status-the respect and admiration one has in face-to-face groups (e.g., among friends or coworkers)-has a stronger effect on SWB than does socioeconomic status. Using correlational, experimental, and longitudinal methodologies, four studies found consistent evidence for a local-ladder effect: Sociometric status significantly predicted satisfaction with life and the experience of positive and negative emotions. Longitudinally, as sociometric status rose or fell, SWB rose or fell accordingly. Furthermore, these effects were driven by feelings of power and social acceptance. Overall, individuals' sociometric status matters more to their SWB than does their socioeconomic status.

DOI

10.1177/0956797611434537

Volume

23 (7)

Pages

764-771

Language

en

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BibTeX

Sources

crossref openalex