Swapping and the social psychology of disadvantaged American populations

Abstract

Are observed class gradients in cognitive frameworks cause or effect of those socioeconomic differences? This question is of critical importance not just for policymakers and psychologists but for all social scientists, including market researchers. The question is all the more salient today as economic and behavioral disparities have seemingly widened in tandem over the last few decades. This commentary offers various theories for this observed correlation within the context of recent psychological and sociological scholarship.