Herbert Bless

When examining the influence of income inequality on subjective well-being (SWB), prior research has relied on objective measures of inequality, such as the Gini index. Alternatively, considering the subjective component, research has also investigated how evaluations of inequality, such as perceived (un-)fairness, influence SWB. However, we argue that it is important to also consider the perceived size of inequality independently from evaluations of inequality. Whereas the effect of evaluations of inequality on SWB have been the subject of prior research the effect of perceived size of inequality has received rather little attention. Across three studies, the present research suggests that the higher the perceived size of inequality the lower SWB, independent of evaluations of inequality. Study 1, a country level-analysis across 41 countries found that this relationship is stronger than and independent of objective inequality or unfairness beliefs about inequality and provides longitudinal evidence. Study 2, a representative survey study (N=836), found that the relationship between perceived size of income inequality and SWB is independent of unfairness beliefs about inequality. Study 3, a pre-registered experiment (N=302) manipulated perceived size of income inequality and found partial support for a causal impact on aspects of SWB. Overall, these results emphasize the importance of perceived size of inequality. This perspective holds important implications for explaining how income inequality impacts SWB.

Many researchers and practitioners consider ethnic segregation in neighbourhoods or schools detrimental to migrants’ acculturation in host societies. Empirically, however, segregation is a 'mixed bag' and its effects depend crucially on the investigated acculturation domain (e.g., negative for language skills, positive for well‐being). As most prior studies have focused on a restricted spectrum of acculturation, a comprehensive assessment within one single study is needed to establish comparability across different acculturation domains. Among over 8000 immigrant‐background students from four countries, we investigated the association of classroom segregation, defined as opportunities for contact with natives and other migrants, with a broad spectrum of acculturation (academic, attitude‐related, identity‐related, social, health‐related, and psychological criteria). Some findings were consistent (e.g., academic acculturation), some were contrary to prior research (e.g., social acculturation). In sum, our results shed light on the 'mixed bag' of segregation and contribute to the understanding of a crucial social issue.

Experimental research suggests that high power and leadership result in the experience of more positive and less negative emotions. Extending these findings of experimental manipulations, we investigated relations between power and subjective well-being in a representative national survey. Defining power as the capability to administer resources or punishments, we inferred power from the number of people whom respondents supervise in their job. The results reflect a very small relation between this operationalization and individuals’ life and job satisfaction. The results suggest that prior experimental findings on the relation between power and satisfaction judgments cannot be applied directly to job situations.

The main advantage of experimental research lies in the possibility of systematically investigating the causal relation between the variables of interest. The well-known advantages result from (a) the possibility to manipulate the independent variable, (b) random assignment of participants to the experimental conditions, and (c) the experimenter’s control over the operationalization of the variables and the general experimental setting. We argue that it is exactly these elements that constitute core advantages of experimental research but that are—at the same time—associated with side effects, which are often out of focus when researchers derive theoretical conclusions from their experimental findings. We discuss potential restrictions linked to these core elements of experimental research. Implications for both theory development and research design are discussed.

Experienced ease of recall was found to qualify the implications of recalled content. Ss who had to recall 12 examples of assertive (unassertive) behaviors,