How Do People Perceive Inequality? with Juan Diego García-Castro

Hosts: Marius R. Busemeyer – Professor of Comparative Political Economy at the University of Konstanz and Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence “Politics of Inequality”.Gabriele Spilker – Professor of Global Inequality and Co-Speaker of the Excellence Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”.Guest: Juan Diego García-Castro - Professor of Social Psychology at the Universidad de Costa Rica and Associated Researcher at COES, Chile. è His work explores injustice evaluations, social comparisons, and ideological narratives surrounding inequality and violence—particularly in Latin America.Episode SummaryIn this episode, we explore how people perceive inequalities: Why do they often fail to grasp the true scale of inequality? What shapes our understanding of who has more, who has less, and why?Social psychologist Juan Diego García-Castro shares insights from his research in Latin America and beyond, highlighting how our environments, ideologies, and social networks influence what we perceive—and justify.Key Topics Discussed1.      Why Inequality Is Hard to Perceive2.      Daily Experience vs. Data3.      The Power of Ideology4.      Cultural and Contextual Differences5.      Perceptions and Political BehaviorLinks & Resources:·       More about the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”·       Further Readings:o   Busemeyer, Marius R.; Jäger, Felix; Baute, Sharon (2025). On the Sidelines?: The Relationship Between Perceptions of Inequality and Political Participation. Policy Paper Series No. 19. Cluster of Excellence „The Politics of Inequality“. o   Busemeyer, Marius R. et al. (2023). Gloomy prospects: The Konstanz Inequality Barometer shows that inequality is perceived to have increased. Policy Paper Series No. 12. Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”. o   García-Castro, Juan Diego; Venegas Márquez, Martin; Pérez-Ahumada, Pablo (2024). Trust in unions drive egalitarianism: Longitudinal evidence. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 34, Issue 4. o   García-Castro, Juan Diego; Rodríguez-Bailón, Rosa; Willis, Guillermo B. (2020). Perceiving economic inequality in everyday life decreases tolerance to inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 90.More about the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”Contact: [email protected] New episodes every first Wednesday of the month – subscribe now!