Social-psychological characteristics of the attitudes of the population in relation to various forms of inequality in society

Nikolskaya A. V., Kostrigin A. A.

The article considers the problems of inequality in Russian society. The authors note that at present only separate forms of inequality are being studied – economic, political, social, legal, etc., however, the integral phenomenon of inequality, which can be described as institutional inequality, is not analyzed and revealed. This phenomenon combines all forms of inequality and their ratio shows the specific features of a particular society, depending on social, political and personal factors. The scientific problem of the study is the social-psychological characteristics of the attitude of the population towards institutional inequality. Research methods: telephone survey, focus groups, content analysis. The results of the study showed that in the perception of the population there are many forms of institutional inequality, including economic, political social, legal, regional, ethnic, religious, moral, organizational, age inequality. The greatest indignation among respondents is caused by legal inequality, further – social, economic and political. The results of the study show that legal and social issues related to inequality are relevant for Russian society. Social-psychological characteristics of the attitude towards institutional inequality partially correspond to sociological results. The problems of economic and social inequality are at the microlevel of relative deprivation. These areas concern each person; respondents have a personal experience of inequality, therefore they have a deeper involvement. Political and legal inequality is recognized by respondents at the macrolevel and at the level of social comparison and experiences of deprivation.

Keywords:inequality, institutional inequality, relative deprivation, attitude to inequality, Russian society, social-psychological characteristics, macro-micro-model of inequality and relative deprivation