Lifelong Change in Social Class and Belief in the American Dream

by

Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Robert Kabacoff

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Luca Guerrera

Luca (they/them) is a junior at Wesleyan and a Computer Science and Education Studies double major. They are from Santa Cruz, California and are interested in economic differences in America and its influences on American society. They enjoy wearing weird clothes and listening to electronic music.

Abstract: This study investigates the correlation between lifelong changes in social class and belief in the American Dream. Lifelong changes in social class, or social class traversal, quantifies how much a person has moved up or down the social ladder since their youth. This is correlated with an aspect of the American Dream defined as meritocratic views, or the belief that if one works hard, they will succeed and move up the social ladder. After analyzing data from the 2021 General Social Survey sampling US citizens, there is a small but significant relationship between social class traversal throughout life and meritocratic views. This relationship is moderated by political party, which has a significant relationship with meritocratic views as well.

Luca-Guerrera-QAC-Final-Poster