Striving or Settling: Social Class Origins and Wage Goal Dynamics in the Job Search Process

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Xuan; Zhou, Le; Ali, Abdifatah A.; Liu, Songqi; Mo, Shenjiang
• 署名单位: Chinese University of Hong Kong; Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; Mays Business School; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University System of Georgia; Georgia State University; Zhejiang University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0001334
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: self-efficacy; intergenerational mobility; socioeconomic-status; CLASS DISPARITIES; decision-making; gender wage; MODEL; INEQUALITY; education; feedback

摘要

This research examines how social class origins influence wage goals among college-educated job seekers. Drawing from the social class and job search literatures, we hypothesize that compared with their peers with upper class origins, job seekers with lower class origins (a) set lower wage goals and (b) adjust their wage goals up and down in reaction to changes in their perceived job search progress (i.e., have a stronger positive within-person relationship between perceived job search progress and wage goal). We tested these hypotheses in two studies that surveyed college-educated job seekers in China every week over 3 months. Study 1 revealed that job seekers with lower (but not upper) class origins adjusted their wage goals based on perceived job search progress. Study 2 found that job seekers with lower class origins had stronger motives for seeking employment to meet the needs and expectations of others (i.e., higher interdependent motives for employment), which in turn strengthened the within-person relationship between perceived job search progress and wage goal. In addition, family income (but not parental education) was positively related to access to resources, which in turn was positively related to the job seeker's average perceived job search progress and wage goals. Both studies found that job seekers who set higher wage goal floors (i.e., the lowest level of wage goal throughout a job search) received job offers with higher wages. These findings offer valuable insights for research and practice.