From Class Difference to Social Distance: Similarity, Threat, and Affective Pathways

The overall aim of this research is to examine how social class identity shapes affective and interpersonal responses to a target individual, and how these responses influence willingness to interact and act prosocially across class divides. Specifically, this research investigates how the interaction between a participant’s own social class and the perceived social class of a target (‘Alex’) influences affective responses (valence and arousal), perceptions of similarity, and perceived social and wellbeing threat, and how these perceptions in turn predict desire for social closeness and charitable behaviour. Secondary aims of the research include assessing how beliefs about social mobility moderate the effects of class mismatch on perceived similarity, threat, and affective responses. Ultimately, the research aims to generate empirically grounded insights into the mechanisms that influence cross-class social engagement and prosociality, with potential applications for interventions designed to increase social cohesion, reduce psychological barriers to interaction, and support positive social mobility experiences.