Inequality is one of the most prescient issues of our time, but garnering support for it is not always easy, despite the clear problems it causes to society.  New research from the University of California, Irvine explores how certain forms of messaging can result in more people supporting actions to mitigate inequality.

The study suggests that when messaging focuses on the disadvantages people face when they’re from lower-socioeconomic classes, people are more likely to engage with the issue.  This is compared to messaging that focuses more on the advantages the upper-classes receive.

The research consisted of five studies in total, each of which explored the various ways in which economic inequality and policy are communicated, and ultimately how this influences the reaction American people have to inequality.

The importance of messaging

Whether on social media, via surveys, or in face-to-face conversations, the researchers found that people were much more receptive to messaging that focused more on reducing poverty and on the disadvantages faced by the lower-classes than they were on reducing the wealth gap between rich and poor or the advantages experienced by the upper-classes.

“These views, in part, are driven by people’s views that disadvantages faced by the lower-class are more unjust than upper-class advantages,” the researchers say.

The researchers believe that their findings can help to inform and guide more nuanced policymaking as attempts are made to adequately address the economic inequality that so bedevils society.

“This research suggests that simple changes in the framing of economic inequality—particularly, focusing on the disadvantages faced by lower-class Americans—can heighten perceptions of injustice and enhance support for action to reduce inequality,” the authors conclude.