Give Them Fish or Teach Them to Fish? The Effects of Stability of Social Stratification and Forms of Help on Higher Socioeconomic Status Group Members' Attitudes Towards Anti-Poverty Programs

Building on social identity approach and intergroup helping as status relations model, the current research examined the explored effects of stability of social stratification and forms of help on higher socioeconomic status (SES) members' attitudes towards anti-poverty programs. Two studies were conducted in a 2 (social stratification stability) x 2 (forms of help) design on willingness to support anti-poverty programs. Study 1 examined the conditions of unstable and stable social stratification that might pattern differences in support of hypothetical anti-poverty programs construed as dependency-oriented or autonomy-oriented help. Study 2 replicated and extended study 1 by examining higher SES (subjective) participants' attitudes towards the cash transfer programs (conditional vs. unconditional, which were determined by their perceptions of the stability of social stratification). Overall, the results of the two studies confirmed that attitudes towards anti-poverty programs could be construed as specific forms of help (dependency-oriented and/or autonomy-oriented help) depending on the nature of the intergroup relations (stability of the social stratification). Finally, the theoretical contribution of the current research is discussed.