Health Economics & Outcome Research: Open Access

The Undervalued Self: Self-Perception and Social Class

Joy Gassen^{* *}Correspondence: Joy Gassen, Editorial office, Health Economics and Outcome Research, Brussels, Belgium, Email:

Author info »

Introduction

People are categorized according to social class, and in this study, we look at how beliefs about one's economic status affect how others see oneself. We hypothesized that chronic lower perceptions of economic standing relative to others would explain associations between objective social class and negative self-evaluation, whereas situation-specific reminders of low economic standing would elicit negative selfevaluations, especially in those from lower-class backgrounds, given that reminders of one's subordinate status in society are an indicator of how society values the self in comparison to others. The correlation between self-esteem and objective material resource measurements of social class was positive in the Study and was explained by perceptions of social class rank. All students' mental health can be enhanced by physical education in the classroom, particularly if it caters to their developmental requirements and takes place in a supportive environment. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of a 9- month school intervention that targeted children aged 10 years to 13 years old's physical self-worth, self-perceived sports ability, body beauty, social competencies, and overall self-worth.

According to a growing body of social science research, economic inequality is linked to societal well-being. For example, highly unequal nations like the United States have higher rates of obesity, incarceration, and mental illness than nations with similar economic development that are more equal, like Denmark and Norway. Additionally, people at the bottom of the social class hierarchy who have the fewest monetary and social resources are more severely affected by these detrimental consequences on their well-being. People at the bottom of the social ladder are the ones who suffer the most as economic disparity increases. University degrees are becoming more necessary as a result of the Great Recession's economic downturn, which can improve people's chances of finding employment in a cutthroat, international job market. According to social science research, students with Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) have less opportunity to succeed in academic settings than do those with high SES.

In comparison to high-SES students, low-SES students in higher education confront psychological challenges, which are discussed in this article. In light of this, we first examine the psychological challenges lowSES students encounter in academic settings in terms of emotional experiences, identity management, self-perception, and motivation. Second, we emphasize how university environments contribute to and reproduce these psychological barriers, as well as the performance gap between low- and high-performing students.

Perceptions of Financial Situation

When defining a social class (also known as socioeconomic status, or SES), socioeconomic status is often used to refer to the experience of varying degrees of objective economic and social resources. The material components of social class—education, wealth, and occupation status— combine to profoundly affect people's life courses, even shortening it for those at the bottom of the class ladder in comparison to those above them. Recent theoretical developments have shown that how people see their economic standing in the social class hierarchy relative to others is influenced by the objective material characteristics of social class. Individuals specifically position themselves in their small social groups, local community, and society at large by contrasting their financial situation, level of education, and line of work with that of others. This ranking process is made easier by people's ability to effectively judge other people's social class during brief social contacts and by their propensity to accurately self-report to promote social connection.

The acute awareness of one's economic position in comparison to others elicits significant changes in health and well-being, in line with research suggesting the significance of social rank for the social lives of non-human mammals. In a series of studies, participants estimated their social class rank by placing an "X" on a ten-rung ladder representing ascending levels of income, education, and occupation status in society, and then underwent measures of various health indicators. Studies have shown that compared to views of upper-class rank, lower social class perceptions were associated with higher blood pressure, a greater propensity to catch a cold, and a higher chance of death.

It's crucial to note that people develop a long-term understanding of their place in society in terms of their economic status and that they constantly adapt this understanding to suit the circumstances. Social class rank predicts poor self-rated health and bad effect independently of one's current mood state, according to studies, providing evidence for persistent beliefs of economic status. Research shows that people will alter the beliefs of their social class position as a result of anticipating an interaction with someone above or below them in the class hierarchy, providing support for the idea that people's judgments of economic standing are situation-specific.