This research explores how financial scarcity shapes attitude extremity. I posit that when people experience financial scarcity, they strategically express their opinions more extremely in an effort to be heard. Current society imposes on people the idea that financial insufficiency is unfavorable and that people who lack financial resources will be ignored. This learned association between financial scarcity and opinion discounting increases people’s desire to be heard when they experience financial scarcity. Two studies test this hypothesis: the first study shows a robust relationship between chronic financial scarcity and attitude extremity using a large panel survey. The second study uses an experimental approach to demonstrate a causal relationship between financial scarcity and at...[ Read more ]

This research explores how financial scarcity shapes attitude extremity. I posit that when people experience financial scarcity, they strategically express their opinions more extremely in an effort to be heard. Current society imposes on people the idea that financial insufficiency is unfavorable and that people who lack financial resources will be ignored. This learned association between financial scarcity and opinion discounting increases people’s desire to be heard when they experience financial scarcity. Two studies test this hypothesis: the first study shows a robust relationship between chronic financial scarcity and attitude extremity using a large panel survey. The second study uses an experimental approach to demonstrate a causal relationship between financial scarcity and attitude extremity that is mediated by a heightened desire to be heard.