Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High Social Mobility Leads to Delayed Reproduction

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Many important family decisions, such as when to have offspring, essentially manifest different life history strategies, ranging from slow to fast ones. The current research examined how one critical societal factor, social mobility (i.e., the shift of socioeconomic status in a society), may contribute to such slow (vs. fast) life history strategies. With four multi-method studies, including archival data at the national level, a large-sample survey (N = 6787), and experimental studies (N = 497), we found that a high level of social mobility predicted and resulted in delayed reproduction. Specifically, a high level of social mobility, indexed by both objective reality and subjective perception, predicted individuals’ positive future expectations. This further leads them to focus on long-term goals and foster a slow life history strategy, i.e., preferring delayed reproduction. Theoretical implications are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data and Materials

All data and materials support our claims and comply with field standards.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Alcántara, C., Chen, C. N., & Alegría, M. (2014). Do post-migration perceptions of social mobility matter for Latino immigrant health? Social Science & Medicine, 101, 94–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bak, H., & Yi, Y. (2020). When the American dream fails: The effect of perceived economic inequality on present-oriented behavior. Psychology & Marketing, 37, 1321–1341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., Schlomer, G. L., & Ellis, B. J. (2012). Beyond cumulative risk: Distinguishing harshness and unpredictability as determinants of parenting and early life history strategy. Developmental Psychology, 48, 662–673.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bjørnskov, C., Dreher, A., Fischer, J. A., Schnellenbach, J., & Gehring, K. (2013). Inequality and happiness: When perceived social mobility and economic reality do not match. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 91, 75–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breen, R., & Luijkx, R. (2004). Social mobility in Europe between 1970 and 2000. In R. Breen (Ed.), Social mobility in Europe (pp. 37–75). Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). The CIA world factbook: Mother’s mean age at first birth. Retrived from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/mothers-mean-age-at-first-birth/

  • Chambers, J. R., Swan, L. K., & Heesacker, M. (2015). Perceptions of US social mobility are divided (and distorted) along ideological lines. Psychological Science, 26, 413–423.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, M., Cheung, F., Lau, C., & Ma, T. F. (2021). Global trends in cross-cultural endorsement of social mobility: Evidence from 167 countries. American Psychologist, 76, 917–932.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Charnov, E. L., & Berrigan, D. (1993). Why do female primates have such long lifespans and so few babies? Or life in the slow lane. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 1, 191–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., Wang, X., Zang, H., & Guinote, A. (2021). Being a tough person in a tight world: Cultural tightness leads to a desire for muscularity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 96, 104183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, L., Zhou, X., Wang, F., & Hao, M. (2020). The greater the economic inequality, the later people have children: The association between economic inequality and reproductive timing. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 61, 450–459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chipman, A., & Morrison, E. (2013). The impact of sex ratio and economic status on local birth rates. Biology Letters, 9, 20130027.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Coale, A. J. (2017). The decline of fertility in Europe. Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Crowl, T. A., & Covich, A. P. (1990). Predator-induced life-history shifts in a freshwater snail. Science, 247, 949–951.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidai, S. (2018). Why do Americans believe in economic mobility? Economic inequality, external attributions of wealth and poverty, and the belief in economic mobility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 79, 138–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidai, S., Wienk, M., & N. (2021). The psychology of lay beliefs about economic mobility. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(8), e12625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, M. V., & Fiske, S. T. (2017). Movin’on up? How perceptions of social mobility affect our willingness to defend the system. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 267–274.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day, M. V., & Fiske, S. T. (2019). Understanding the nature and consequences of social mobility beliefs. In J. Jetten & K. Peteres (Eds.), The social psychology of inequality (pp. 365–380). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Du, H., Liang, Y., Chi, P., & King, R. B. (2021). Chinese perceive upward social mobility: How future mobility is influenced, but not limited by past mobility. International Journal of Psychology, 56, 951–960.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth, A. L., Tsukayama, E., & Kirby, T. A. (2013). Is it really self-control? Examining the predictive power of the delay of gratification task. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 843–855.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duru-Bellat, M., & Kieffer, A. (2008). Objective/subjective: The two facets of social mobility. Sociologie du Travail, 50, e1–e18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eijkemans, M. J., Van Poppel, F., Habbema, D. F., Smith, K. R., Leridon, H., & te Velde, E. R. (2014). Too old to have children? Lessons from natural fertility populations. Human Reproduction, 29, 1304–1312.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, B. J., Figueredo, A. J., Brumbach, B. H., & Schlomer, G. L. (2009). Fundamental dimensions of environmental risk. Human Nature, 20, 204–268.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ernande, B., Clobert, J., McCombie, H., & Boudry, P. (2003). Genetic polymorphism and trade-offs in the early life-history strategy of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1795): A quantitative genetic study. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 16(3), 399–414.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fazio, R. H., & Zanna, M. P. (1981). Direct experience and attitude behavior consistency. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 161–202). Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueredo, A. J., Vásquez, G., Brumbach, B. H., Schneider, S. M., Sefcek, J. A., Tal, I. R., & Jacobs, W. J. (2006). Consilience and life history theory: From genes to brain to reproductive strategy. Developmental Review, 26(2), 243–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlay, J. E., Mejía-Guevara, I., & Akachi, Y. (2018). Inequality in total fertility rates and the proximate determinants of fertility in 21 sub-Saharan African countries. PLoS ONE, 13, e0203344.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & Tybur, J. M. (2011a). Environmental contingency in life history strategies: The influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on reproductive timing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 241–254.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Delton, A. W., & Robertson, T. E. (2011b). The influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on risk and delayed rewards: A life history theory approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 1015–1026.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hassan, M. A., & Killick, S. R. (2003). Effect of male age on fertility: Evidence for the decline in male fertility with increasing age. Fertility and Sterility, 79, 1520–1527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hays, N. A., & Bendersky, C. (2015). Not all inequality is created equal: Effects of status versus power hierarchies on competition for upward mobility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108, 867–882.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., & Kaplan, H. (1999). Life history traits in humans: Theory and empirical studies. Annual Review of Anthropology, 28, 397–430.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao, H. H. M., Wong, K., Wan, P. S., & Zheng, V. (2020). The impact of experience and perceptions of social mobility on the life satisfaction of young people in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 5, 319–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, S., Bookstein, F. L., & Fieder, M. (2010). Socioeconomic status, education, and reproduction in modern women: An evolutionary perspective. American Journal of Human Biology, 22, 578–587.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, Y., & Zheng, Z. (2020). China’s low fertility rate from the perspective of gender and development. Social Sciences in China, 41, 169–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia, L., Lim, C. H., Ismail, I., & Tan, Y. C. (2021). Stunted upward mobility in a learning environment reduces the academic benefits of growth mindsets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, e2011832118.

  • Kaplan, H., Hill, K., Lancaster, J., & Hurtado, A. M. (2000). A theory of human life history evolution: Diet, intelligence, and longevity. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews: Issues, News, and Reviews, 9, 156–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, S. M. C., & Kelley, C. G. E. (2009). Subjective social mobility: Data from 30 nations. In M. Haller, R. Jowell, & T. W. Smith (Eds.), Charting the globe: The international social survey programme (pp. 1984–2009). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krumhuber, E. G., Wang, X., & Guinote, A. (2022). The powerful self: How social power and gender influence face perception. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02798-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lack, D. (1950). The breeding seasons of European birds. Ibis, 92(2), 288–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, C. A., & Dejgaard, T. E. (2013). The institutional logic of images of the poor and welfare recipients: A comparative study of British, Swedish and Danish newspapers. Journal of European Social Policy, 23, 287–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, W., Yang, Y., Wu, J., & Kou, Y. (2020). Testing the status-legitimacy hypothesis in China: Objective and subjective socioeconomic status divergently predict system justification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46, 1044–1058.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, L., Hua, L., & Li, J. (2022). Seeking pleasure or growth? The mediating role of happiness motives in the longitudinal relationship between social mobility beliefs and well-being in college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 184, 111170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Low, B. S., Hazel, A., Parker, N., & Welch, K. B. (2008). Influences on women’s reproductive lives: Unexpected ecological underpinnings. Cross-Cultural Research, 42, 201–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandisodza, A. N., Jost, J. T., & Unzueta, M. M. (2006). “Tall poppies” and “American dreams” reactions to rich and poor in Australia and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 659–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meraviglia, C. (2017). The social ladder: Status mobility across time and countries. In J. Edlund, I. Bechert, & M. Quandt (Eds.), Social inequality in the eyes of the public: A collection of analyses based on ISSP data 1987–2009 (GESIS-Volume 17) (pp. 13–33). GESIS-Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nettle, D. (2010). Dying young and living fast: Variation in life history across English neighborhoods. Behavioral Ecology, 21, 387–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, T. T., Yang, S. L., Yu, F., Xu, B. X., & Wei, J. (2022). Perception of class mobility moderates the relationship between social class and prosocial behaviour. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 25(1), 88–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagioglou, C., Forstmann, M., & Greitemeyer, T. (2019). Belief in social mobility mitigates hostility resulting from disadvantaged social standing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 541–556.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2013). Life after P-Hacking. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans, LA. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2205186.

  • Sng, O., Neuberg, S. L., Varnum, M. E., & Kenrick, D. T. (2017). The crowded life is a slow life: Population density and life history strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 736–754.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swan, L. K., Chambers, J. R., Heesacker, M., & Nero, S. S. (2017). How should we measure Americans’ perceptions of socio-economic mobility? Judgment and Decision Making, 12, 507–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The World Bank. (2020a). International comparison program, World Bank | World Development Indicators database, World Bank | Eurostat-OECD PPP Programme. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true.

  • The World Bank. (2020b). Food and agriculture organization and World Bank population estimates. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/en.pop.dnst.

  • United Nations. (2018). 2018 revision of world urbanization prospects. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS.

  • United Nations. (2019a). World population prospects 2019a. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN.

  • United Nations. (2019b). World population prospects 2019b. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS.

  • Wang, M., Rieger, M. O., & Hens, T. (2016). How time preferences differ: Evidence from 53 countries. Journal of Economic Psychology, 52, 115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Chen, H., & Chen, Z. (2022a). Women’s self-objectification under competition when they believe sex is power. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51(6), 2837–2854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Chen, H., Chen, Z., & Luo, S. (2022b). An exchange orientation results in an instrumental approach in intimate relationships. British Journal of Social Psychology, 61, 1144–1159. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12530

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Chen, W. F., Hong, Y. Y., & Chen, Z. (2022c). Perceiving high social mobility breeds materialism: The mediating role of socioeconomic status uncertainty. Journal of Business Research, 139, 629–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Chen, Z., & Krumhuber, E. G. (2020a). Money: An integrated review and synthesis from a psychological perspective. Review of General Psychology, 24(2), 172–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Chen, Z., Krumhuber, E. G., & Chen, H. (2021). Money and flexible generosity. British Journal of Social Psychology, 60(4), 1262–1278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Teng, F., Chen, Z., & Poon, K. T. (2020b). Control my appearance, control my social standing: Appearance control beliefs influence American women’s (not men’s) social mobility perception. Personality and Individual Differences, 155, 109629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Wang, S., & Hou, B. (2020c). The influence of sex ratio and childhood harshness on male short-term mating preference. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1997). Life expectancy, economic inequality, homicide, and reproductive timing in Chicago neighbourhoods. British Medical Journal, 314, 1271.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wiwad, D. C. M. (2015). The rags-to-riches story of income mobility and its impact on emotional well-being. MA thesis, Simon Fraser University.

  • World Economic Forum. (2020). The Global Social Mobility Report 2020: Equality, opportunity and a new economic imperative. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Global_Social_Mobility_Report.pdf.

  • Yoon, S., & Kim, H. C. (2016). Keeping the American dream alive: The interactive effect of perceived economic mobility and materialism on impulsive spending. Journal of Marketing Research, 53, 759–772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, S., & Wong, N. (2014). Perceived economic mobility: Measurement, validity, and implication for consumer wellbeing and materialism. ACR North American Advances, 42, 750–751.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zietsch, B. P., & Sidari, M. J. (2020). A critique of life history approaches to human trait covariation. Evolution and Human Behavior, 41(6), 527–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research is supported by “The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (Grant No. 310422147).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Xijing Wang

  2. The Department of Digital Economy and Management, Business School, Beijing Normal University, Haidian District, Beijing, 10086, China

    Xue Wang

  3. Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Zhansheng Chen

Authors
  1. Xijing Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xue Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhansheng Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by the first two authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by the first two authors and all authors commented on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xue Wang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the research.

Consent for Publication

The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication.

Ethical Approval

The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Human Research Ethics committee of the university.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix A: Social Mobility Manipulation (Study 2)

High (Low) Social Mobility Condition

Recent research shows that we live in a society that is becoming more and more flexible (inflexible) with regard to its social hierarchies. This means that if you hold a certain position in a social hierarchy (e.g., at work, in society), it is very much possible (very unlikely) for you to move up or down in that hierarchy.

In other words, the social environment we were born into won’t affect (will determine) our future life to a significant degree. One could say, the well-known notion of going “from rags to riches” is very much applicable to our society (is not applicable to our society anymore). At the same time, people who are rich now can quickly (are unlikely to) lose large parts of their wealth.

This is neither a strictly positive nor a strictly negative development. Flexible social hierarchies offer fairness and opportunities, while inflexible social hierarchies guarantee safety and stability.

Appendix B: 10 Items from the MINI-K Scale (Study 3)

  1. 1.

    I don’t give up until I solve my problems.

  2. 2.

    I often make plans in advance.

  3. 3.

    I avoid taking risks.

  4. 4.

    While growing up, I had a close and warm relationship with my biological mother and/or father.

  5. 5.

    I (will) have a close and warm relationship with my own children.

  6. 6.

    I would rather have one than several sexual relationships at a time.

  7. 7.

    I have to be closely attached to someone before I am comfortable having sex with them.

  8. 8.

    I am often in social contact with my blood relatives.

  9. 9.

    I am often in social contact with my friends.

  10. 10.

    I am closely connected to and involved in my community.

Appendix C: Social Mobility Manipulation (Study 4, The Original Material was in Chinese)

High (Low) Social Mobility Condition

figure a

Social class refers to divided social groups based on income, occupation, and status. Mobility between different social classes is an important social phenomenon. Recent research shows that we live in a society where social mobility is becoming increasingly flexible (difficult). This means that if a person occupies a certain position, such as the upper, middle, or lower classes, in a social hierarchy, he/she is more (less) likely to achieve upward or downward mobility within that hierarchy.

In fact, according to the latest statistics, every 10 years, 5 (0.1)% of people move between the lower class and the upper class, including those from the lower class to the upper class or from the upper class to the lower class. 20 (3)% move between the middle and the upper classes, including those from the middle class to the upper class or from the upper class to the middle class. 40 (5)% move between the middle and the lower classes, including those from the lower class to the middle class or from the middle class to the lower class.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, X., Wang, X. & Chen, Z. High Social Mobility Leads to Delayed Reproduction. Arch Sex Behav 52, 1365–1377 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02551-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02551-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation