The logic of relative frustration revisited: theoretical revision of Boudon’s competition model and experimental evidence

Author:

Otten Kasper1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Sociology, Utrecht University , Padualaan 14, 3584 CH Utrecht , The Netherlands

Abstract

Abstract It is commonly believed that improvements in social opportunities can paradoxically lead to a larger share of frustrated individuals. This paradox has been studied in the field of analytical sociology through a competition model proposed by Raymond Boudon. So far, analyses of the model suggest that the paradox indeed occurs, especially when opportunities improve from a low to medium level and acting on these opportunities carries relatively low costs. However, these analyses are based on the premise that actors care about their absolute payoffs and not their relative payoffs. We extend this premise such that actors care both about their absolute and relative payoffs, by incorporating a form of inequity aversion that we call relative deprivation aversion (RDA). Through game-theoretic analyses, we show that the paradoxical relationship is strongly attenuated when incorporating RDA. Using data from several experiments, we show also empirically that there is no significant increase in relative deprivation under improving opportunities. We conclude that the paradox is theoretically and empirically not likely in the situations captured in Boudon’s competition model. We discuss the implications this has for the paradox in general and provide suggestions for situations under which the paradox may be more likely.

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Sociology and Political Science

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3