Abstract
The focus of this special issue is relative deprivation (RD): the judgment that one or one’s group is worse off compared to some standard accompanied by feelings of anger and resentment. This collection of seven papers demonstrates the range of the new thinking and research about RD, and they include data from an impressive variety of participants—including Canadians (both French- and English-speakers), Dutch, the Maoris of New Zealand, Mongols, Singaporeans, and South Africans (both Blacks and Whites). These seven papers show that if RD, and its counterpart, relative gratification, are defined carefully, at the right level of analysis and employed within larger theoretical models, the concept offers invaluable insight to how people respond to often dramatic changes in their objective circumstances.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albert, S. (1977). Temporal comparison theory. Psychological Review, 84, 485–503.
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Brush, S. G. (1996). Dynamics of theory change in the social sciences: Relative deprivation and collective violence. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 40, 523–545.
Butler, J. C. (2000). Personality and emotional correlates of right- wing authoritarianism. Social Behavior and Personality, 28, 1–14.
Davies, J. C. (1962). Toward a theory of revolution. American Sociological Review, 27(1), 5–19.
Duckitt, J. H. (1992). Psychology and prejudice: A historical analysis and integrative framework. American Psychologist, 47(10), 1182–1193.
Ekehammar, B., Akrami, N., Gylje, M., & Zakrisson, I. (2004). What matters most to prejudice? Big five personality, social dominance orientation, or right wing authoritarianism? European Journal of Personality, 18(6), 463–482.
Finkel, S., & Rule, J. (1987). Relative deprivation and related psychological theories of civil violence: A critical review. Research in Social Movements: Conflicts and Change, 9, 47–69.
Guimond, S., & Dambrun, M. (2002). When prosperity breeds intergroup hostility: The effects of relative deprivation and gratification on prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 900–912.
Gurney, J., & Tierney, K. (1982). Relative deprivation and social movements: A critical look at twenty years of theory and research. The Sociological Quarterly, 23, 33–47.
Gurr, T. R. (1970). Why men rebel. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Hartley, E. L. (1946). Problems in prejudice. New York: Kings Crown Press.
Pettigrew, T. F. (2009). Secondary transfer effect of contact: Do intergroup contact effects generalize to non-contacted outgroups? Social Psychology, 40(2), 55–65.
Pettigrew, T. F. (2015) Stouffer and relative deprivation. Social Psychology Quarterly (in press).
Pettigrew, T. F., Christ, O., Meertens, R. W., Wagner, U., van Dick, R., & Zick, A. (2008). Relative deprivation and intergroup prejudice. Journal of Social Issues, 64(2), 385–401.
Runciman, W. G. (1966). Relative deprivation and social justice. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Sibley, C., & Duckitt, J. (2000). Personality and prejudice: A meta- analysis and theoretical review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 248–279.
Smith, H., Pettigrew, T. F., Pippin, G., & Bialosiewicz, S. (2012). Relative deprivation: A theoretical and meta-analytic critique. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(3), 203–232.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, H.J., Pettigrew, T.F. Advances in Relative Deprivation Theory and Research. Soc Just Res 28, 1–6 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-014-0231-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-014-0231-5