Basic Basic Needs: The (Biased) Belief that Low-Income Consumers Need Less

In summary, Hagerty and Barasz's research shows the same items and features are perceived as more of a need for high income individuals than low income individuals. As a consequence, lower income consumers are perceived more negatively than higher income consumers after making the same purchasing decision. Their work extends past research on the negative judgments and dehumanization of lower income individuals by demonstrating that they are perceived as having fundamentally fewer needs than higher income individuals.