In prepping for a previous post on social justice, I came across a great meta-analysis on the research and theory of "relative deprivation", which the authors define as "the judgment that one is worse off compared to some standard accompanied by feelings of anger and resentment" (Smith, Pettigrew et al, 2011, p 203). According to this meta-analysis, the experience of relative deprivation can be applied to the self or ingroup and requires:
Domain of comparison is important, such as income, wealth, education, possessions
Assumption that one’s situation will not improve without outside intervention.
Process producing disadvantage perceived to be illegitimate, such as racial discrimination.
Self/ingroup is not to blame. Forces beyond one’s control are responsible.
Here are some examples of when feelings of deprivation, anger and resentment may be attenuated:
If you don’t care about fancy clothing, you’re not going to feel relatively deprived if you see someone all decked out (domain unimportant).
If you’re poor and unknown but confident that hard work will eventually bring fame and fortune, you’re less likely to feel deprived relative to the celebrity class (no need for outside intervention).
If you’re paid less than coworkers because you’ve chosen to work fewer hours, you probably don’t resent your better-paid coworkers, because they should be paid more if they work more (process is legitimate).
If you’re down on your luck but accept your own life decisions are at least partly to blame, you’re less likely to resent the good fortune of others (self blame).
Update:
As of May 2, 2023, the above review of relative deprivation theory and research had received 1059 citations. Here’s an abbreviated Abstract of a recent paper that cited it.
Why do people view economic success as zero-sum? In seven studies (including a large, nationally representative sample of more than 90,000 respondents from 60 countries), we explore how personal relative deprivation influences zero-sum thinking—the belief that one person’s gains can only be obtained at other people’s expense. We find that personal relative deprivation fosters a belief that economic success is zero-sum, and that this is true regardless of participants’ household income, political ideology, or subjective social class. Moreover, in a large and preregistered study, we find that the effect of personal relative deprivation on zero-sum thinking is mediated by lay perceptions of society. The more people see themselves as having been unfairly disadvantaged relative to others, the more they view the world as unjust and economic success as determined by external forces beyond one’s control. In turn, these cynical views of society lead people to believe that economic success is zero-sum (Ongis & Davidai, 2022).
References:
Ongis, M., & Davidai, S. (2022). Personal relative deprivation and the belief that economic success is zero-sum. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 151(7), 1666–1680. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001144
Smith, H. J., T. F. Pettigrew, et al. (2011). "Relative Deprivation: A Theoretical and Meta-Analytic Review." Personality and Social Psychology Review 16(3): 203-232.