Framing inequality as advantage versus disadvantage: a systematic review of effects and a two-step model to explain them

Abstract

Although disadvantage and advantage jointly make up inequality, inequality is often one-sidedly framed as disadvantage. Concurrently, efforts to raise awareness for advantages are growing. Many studies have examined whether and how it matters if inequality is framed as advantage or disadvantage. However, empirical and conceptual integration of this work is lacking. For empirical integration, we systematically reviewed 71 experimental studies in 36 documents ( n = 20,063). These investigated many different variables, but often only once, or with inconsistent findings. Framing manipulations varied in ways that could bias effects. Summarizing consistent effects, we conclude that framing can influence how people perceive and react to inequality, but this is contingent on moderators. For conceptual integration, we developed a two-step model, which defines (dis)advantage frames and aims to explain why (Step 1) and how (Step 2) they influence which variables, to help this exciting research field move forward in a more systematic way.