Self-Exclusion in the Attention Economy: Identity-Driven Withdrawal from Status and Leadership Roles

Self-Exclusion in the Attention Economy: Identity-Driven Withdrawal from Status and Leadership Roles | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Self-Exclusion in the Attention Economy: Identity-Driven Withdrawal from Status and Leadership Roles ferdinand This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6886028/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In the platform-based attention economy, visibility increasingly functions as a form of economic and symbolic capital. Yet individuals experiencing poverty often disengage from attention-seeking and status-enhancing behaviors, even when such actions could offer tangible benefits. This paper explores this paradox through the concept of poverty identity—a psychological construct shaped by chronic scarcity, stigma, and negative self-perception. Drawing on theories of scarcity, self-verification, and identity economics, we hypothesize that poverty identity fosters attentional avoidance, status aversion, and reluctance to assume responsibility. To test this, we conducted a laboratory experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions: poverty salience, psychological sufficiency ("enoughness"), or a neutral control. We measured behavioral proxies for attention-seeking (social media activity) and status engagement (willingness to assume leadership roles). Results show that participants primed with poverty identity were significantly less likely to post on social media or accept leadership roles, even after controlling for internal shame, time preference, and risk aversion. In contrast, those primed with sufficiency demonstrated greater social engagement and willingness to lead. These effects were particularly pronounced among male participants, suggesting gendered dynamics in the internalization of poverty. Our findings suggest that poverty identity operates as a latent psychological mechanism that perpetuates exclusion by dampening strategic visibility and social agency. We argue for the integration of psychological constraints into economic models of behavior and inclusion. Behavioral Economics Development Economics Attention Poverty Identity Status responsibility Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs (ULPGL-Goma). All participants provided informed consent prior to participation. All procedures followed internationally recognized ethical principles for research with human subjects. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6886028","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":470780147,"identity":"4021b483-2762-406e-a5fe-c9fb8bd12755","order_by":0,"name":"ferdinand","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYGBokEEOtGAhsDQwWQwczcgFcLzwGYljsPgFrOgLQwEqEFzLoP1MLYBmIR0sLe+/DGwx12eXy3c8we/pxXG83fDtTyo2Ibbi08x40tEs8kF0vezjE35t12PHfGYcYGxp4zt3FqsZdIY5NIbGNO3AC0RZpx27HcBqAWZsY23Fp45J+BtNQnbriRYyb5c86x3PkEtUiwgbQcBmuR4G2oyd1AUAtPGrNFYtvxxJk30sqNeY4dyN0I1HIQn1942I8x3vzZVp3YdyN528MfNXW5884fPvjgRwVuLejgMJg8QLR6IKgjRfEoGAWjYBSMEAAAgyhfYM/MQDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2833-0089","institution":"Université Libre des pays des grands","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"","middleName":"","lastName":"ferdinand","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-13 08:06:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":true,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6886028/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6886028/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84752580,"identity":"99630db4-5fd5-4c12-bcb0-5bdbd05ae029","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-17 03:23:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":303154,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"attention.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6886028/v1_covered_da54846f-a873-4242-9870-1e351fdae40c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs (ULPGL-Goma). 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