The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Changes the Way We Think, Live and Die

Author(s): Dr. Keith Payne

Politics

Inequality is on a scale that has not been seen in our lifetimes, yet the disparity between rich and poor has ramifications that extend far beyond mere financial means. THE BROKEN LADDER tells the story of inequality and its impact on everything from our thinking to our mood and our health. Feeling poor matters - not just being poor. It affects how we make decisions, how our immune systems function and even how we view moral concepts like justice and fairness. Regardless of their average incomes, countries or states with greater levels of income inequality have much higher rates of all the social maladies we associate with poverty: lower than average life expectancies, mental illness and crime. Using groundbreaking research in psychology and neuroscience, Keith Payne explores such issues as why women in poor societies often have more children, and why they have them at a younger age; why people's perception of their social status affects their political beliefs; how poverty raises stress levels as effectively as physical threats; how inequality in the workplace affects performance; and why unequal societies tend to become more religious. Replete with insights and illuminating examples, THE BROKEN LADDER outlines the steps we can take to get off the endless treadmill of social comparison.


Product Information

Keith Payne has written an eye-opening book with profound resonance for the state of our world. We all know that income inequality has dire economic and societal consequences, but THE BROKEN LADDER shows that it has deep psychological impact too, affecting our decision-making, our mood and our health. A thoughtful look - and a rallying cry - into the way our environment shapes us all -- Susan Cain author of QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING THE BROKEN LADDER's examination of the consequences of inequality - of what it is like to be poor and to feel poor - is as profound as it is revelatory. Keith Payne is a lovely, graceful writer. Replete with gems of research studies, insights and illuminating examples and implications, this book will change the way you think about your world -- Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of THE HOW OF HAPPINESS THE BROKEN LADDER is an important, timely and beautifully written account of how inequality affects us all. Though it surely plagues the poorest and most vulnerable members of society, Keith Payne expertly and engagingly shows that it also touches the wealthy and privileged. Payne marshals the cutting edge in psychology and neuroscience research to explain how inequality influences our political and religious beliefs, how we perform at work, and how we respond to stress and physical threats - and how we can combat its most insidious effects on our lives -- Adam Alter, author of IRRESISTIBLE: WHY WE CAN'T STOP CHECKING, SCROLLING, CLICKING AND WATCHING

Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an international leader in the psychology of inequality and discrimination, his research has been featured in THE ATLANTIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES and on NPR, and he has written for SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and PSYCHOLOGY TODAY.

General Fields

  • : 9781474601115
  • : Weidenfeld & Nicholson
  • : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  • : May 2017
  • : 234mm X 153mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : May 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Dr. Keith Payne
  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • : en
  • : 305
  • : 288