Framing inequality: How different ways of describing economic inequality shape appraisals of and responses to inequality


Inequality can be framed in various ways. Descriptions can focus on the rich having more than the poor or on the poor having less than the rich. It can be framed in terms of income, wealth, living conditions, and in many other ways. Importantly, such often subtle differences in framing matter, because language is not only an expression of human thoughts and feelings, it also influences them and affects behavior. In this project, we address the core of the Inequality Cycle Framework (ICF) by addressing the question how economic inequality translates into psychological reality – more specifically, how framing shapes individual and collective responses to inequality that then feedback into existing inequality.

Principal investigator (P.I):

Prof. Dr Susanne Bruckmueller, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany
Prof. Dr Gerhard Reese, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany

Project members/Collaborators:

Prof. Dr Sarah Martiny, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway

External Link

Inequality Project
Framing Inequality Project



Financial/grant information:

Financial/grant information: Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).