想成功又想躺平：经济不平等引发的冲突后效及其作用机制

Economic inequality is a significant barrier to social development and the achievement of “common prosperity”. While it is also known to drive individuals’ aspirations for wealth and status, there is limited empirical research exploring this relationship. The current research aimed to investigate how economic inequality influences the desire for wealth and status, as well as its underlying mechanisms. Meanwhile, the growing phenomenon of “lying flat” — a lifestyle choice of minimal effort and rejection of societal pressures to overwork or overachieve — challenges these aspirations. Could “lying flat” be a response to economic inequality? If so, it may suggest that the motivational effects of inequality on wealth and status are subjective and do not always translate into actual behavior. We also examined how economic inequality shapes tendencies toward “lying flat”, exploring the mechanisms and boundary conditions that influence the dual psychological outcomes of desire for wealth and status versus the tendency to subscribe to the “lying flat” lifestyle. To address these issues, we conducted two correlational studies (Studies 1 and 2) and four experimental studies (Studies 3, 4a, 4b, and 5). Studies 1 and 2 explored the relationships between economic inequality, desire for wealth and status, and the “lying flat” lifestyle through cross-sectional surveys of student and general population samples. Study 3 examined the mediating role of status anxiety in the relationship between economic inequality and the desire for wealth and status using manipulations of the perceived inequality. Studies 4a and 4b investigated the mediating role of perceived control between economic inequality and the “lying flat” lifestyle with two different manipulations — one based on the description of real-world inequality and the other on a virtual context. Study 5 tested the moderating effect of perceived social mobility in the “economic inequality → perceived control → lying flat” path. All studies were conducted with mainland Chinese samples. Studies 1 and 2 found that economic inequality had a positive correlation with both the desire for wealth and status and the “lying flat” lifestyle. Study 2 showed that status anxiety mediated the relationship between economic inequality and the desire for wealth and status, while perceived control mediated the relationship between economic inequality and “lying flat”. Study 3 further verified the “economic inequality → status anxiety → desire for wealth and status” path and once again proved that status anxiety plays a mediating role between economic inequality and the desire for wealth and status based on experimental design. Similarly, Study 4 (including Studies 4a and 4b) verified the “economic inequality → perceived control → lying flat” path and experimentally reaffirmed the mediating role of perceived control between economic inequality and “lying flat”. Study 5 revealed that perceived social mobility moderated the relationship between economic inequality and perceived control, as well as the mediating model of “economic inequality → perceived control → lying flat”. Specifically, participants with a higher perception of social mobility showed higher perceived control even at higher levels of economic inequality. This research replicated the positive effect of economic inequality on the desire for wealth and status, identifying status anxiety as a mediator. It deepens our understanding of the societal consequences of economic inequality. Additionally, we explored how perceived control mediates the relationship between economic inequality and the “lying flat” lifestyle, analyzing the mechanisms behind this contradiction. Finally, we examined the potential of perceived social mobility to mitigate this psychological state. This research provides new insights into the effects of economic inequality and explores practical measures to address the “lying flat” lifestyle, supporting the goal of “common prosperity”.