The Future in Inequality

Recently an article in "Personality and Social Psychology Review" urged social psychologists to reacquire their "sociological imagination" and incorporate broader, structural factors in their work (Oishi, Kesebir, and Snyder 2009). Studies of social inequality in particular seem ripe for this kind of collaboration. Psychological investigations relating to inequality typically center on interpersonal prejudice, stigma, or power relations. To some extent, these perspectives incorporate sociostructural factors, but only rarely. In contrast, sociology has much to offer in explaining how dimensions of stratification (e.g., race or occupation) drive psychological reactions between people at the face-to-face level. In this article, the authors discuss where the future (understanding) of inequality lies.