Subjective Social Status¶
Short Description: Subjective social status refers to the individuals’ sense of their place in the social ladder. Research suggests that subjective social status may be a more comprehensive measure of one’s social position than objective social status (i.e. income, education, occupation), possibly by enabling a cognitive averaging of a broader range of status-related information.
Methodological Details: Subjective social status was measured using German versions of the MacArthur Scales. Participants were shown a 10-rung ladder and were instructed to imagine that the ladder showed where people are situated in their social environment. The top of the ladder indicated the highest social importance to their social environment, the bottom indicated the lowest importance. Participants were then asked to place themselves on the ladder: “Please select the rung of the ladder where you find yourself currently in comparison to other people in your social environment.” The same question was asked again regarding not only participants’ social environment but all of Germany: “Please select the rung of the ladder where you find yourself currently in comparison to other people in Germany.”
Available Papers
Neubert, Marie, Philipp Süssenbach, Winfried Rief, and Frank Euteneuer. 2019. Unemployment and mental health in the German population: the role of subjective social status. Psychology Research and Behavior Management 12, 557-564. (https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s207971)
Contact |
Syear |
Respondents |
Dataset |
Variables |
Availability |
Field |
Method |
Replication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philipp Süssenbach (Fachhochschule des Mittelstands), Frank Euteneuer (AG Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie) |
2018 |
~1750 |
inno |
04/2021 |
Psychology |
Survey items |
2016 |