OSF Preregistration: Study 4 (The Psychological Distance Experiment)

This preregistration outlines the protocol for the fourth study in a comprehensive research project investigating the "Inequality-Opportunity Paradox"—the phenomenon where objective macro-level social inequality acts as a catalyst for social entrepreneurial action in some contexts, yet triggers paralysis or resignation in others. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and our Dual-Pathway Model of Inequality Enactment, the overarching project explores how structural disparities are cognitively processed and translated into venturing behavior. While previous studies in this project established the causal link between inequality narratives and venturing intention (Study 1), the primacy of subjective perception (Study 2), and the macro-level boundary conditions of public attention (Study 3), the current study focuses on specific, micro-level behavioral enactment. Purpose of the Current Study: Study 4 is designed as a strict, confirmatory randomized between-subjects experiment. Its primary purpose is to test the behavioral transition from problem awareness to solution-seeking. Specifically, it investigates whether and how exposure to structural social inequality prompts individuals in the social sector to seek out proximal (acute, case-based) versus distal (systemic, entrepreneurial) solutions.