社会阶层信号及其对人际水平社会互动的影响

社会阶层信号是指个体据以感知和判断他人社会阶层的一切线索, 人们通过加工这些微妙的线索便能判断出他人的社会阶层, 而他人的社会阶层在很大程度上决定着人们在人际水平的社会互动行为。以穿着打扮、面部特征和说话特点为例, 说明社会阶层信号对个体判断他人阶层的影响, 在此基础上围绕社会交换、社会公平和社会认同这三个动机视角归纳了社会阶层信号对人际水平社会互动的不同影响。针对社会阶层信号本身, 将来有必要探讨社会阶层信号功能弱化的问题; 由于社会阶层信号与社会阶层这一概念的相关度较高, 未来研究有必要阐述二者的联系与区别; 鉴于目前少有研究考察第三方的社会阶层信号如何影响人际水平社会互动的问题, 探索互动中第三方社会阶层信号的影响及其机制将会是对社会阶层心理学研究的一个重要推进。

Social class signs and their effects on interpersonal social interactions

Social class signs are a component of person perception about social class of others. People can determine another’s social class by processing these subtle social class signs, and another’s social class has a profound and extensive impact on interpersonal social interaction. This article used personal attire, facial features, and speaking characteristics as examples to illustrate that social class signs affect individual’s judgment of another’s social class. Moreover, we summarized the distinguishing influences of social class signs on interpersonal social interactions based on the perspectives of social exchange, social fairness, and social identity. It would be desirable to study if the functions of some social class signs are weakened because of the problem of conspicuous consumption. Regarding the relatively high relevance between social class signs and social class, it is necessary to explore the relation and distinction between these two constructs in future research. Given that few studies have examined the impacts of social class signs of a third party on interpersonal social interactions, it is important to expand the research from the interpersonal perspective to the third-party perspective.