How the 2008 recession changed people’s class identity ^{CEFR B2}

New research shows that the 2008 Great Recession changed how many Americans view their social class, and that the change appears to have lasted for years. The study, published in Psychological Science, was led by Stephen Antonoplis, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

Antonoplis analysed four large datasets that together tracked class identity for about 165,000 people over decades. These long-term data let him test whether effects of the recession persisted rather than fading quickly. Past experiments using the MacArthur ladder, a ten-step visual scale, produced brief, short-lived shifts in class comparisons; this analysis instead finds enduring change after the 2008 downturn.

The study measured only people’s self-perceived class identity and did not link those reports directly to objective losses in income or assets. Antonoplis noted the personal nature of class identity, saying, “Invariably, there’s someone in a study who reports an income of something like $200,000, yet identifies as lower class.” He also pointed to threatening headlines from the Great Recession era, such as “When Greatness Slips Away” and “As Unemployment Rises, Kids’ Future Dims,” which were widespread in outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Researchers emphasise that class identity matters because it influences health, well-being, political views and social outlook. The Great Recession has been linked to increases in adverse health outcomes, and a perceived loss of status may be one pathway for those harms. Future research will study how these changes have affected health and the US political landscape. Antonoplis suggested that better public memory of historical events could help people be more resilient and that the findings may shed light on the current “vibecession.” Source: UC Riverside.