Subjective perceptions of social mobility are critical for defending societal system and maintain political stability (Day and Fiske 2017; Houle 2019). This dissertation enhances our understanding of factors that shape beliefs in opportunity for upward mobility by focusing on the living environments in American neighborhoods. Inspired by the research from psychology and development economics, I developed and tested the Opportunity Beliefs Theory to explain how the built environment in neighborhoods affects individuals’ opportunity beliefs. The theory aims to elucidate how environmental factors psychologically affect people’s beliefs and behavior. The Opportunity Beliefs theory argues that the living environment can rouse positive or negative emotions. The emotional incentives shape residents’ self-efficacy. These emotions and self-efficacy largely affect people’s expectations for the future. According to the Opportunity Beliefs Theory, for people with low/middle income, those who live in a neighborhood with a better-maintained built environment are more likely to possess positive emotions and hold a high-level of self-efficacy. Furthermore, these residents will perceive more opportunities for themselves and their children for getting ahead in life, and they are more likely to agree that the opportunities are distributed equally in the society. I have designed three studies which can support each other to explore the valid causal inferences between the built environment in neighborhoods and opportunity beliefs. First, in order to understand how the built environment in neighborhoods affects Americans’ opportunity beliefs, I designed a conventional survey which has a nation-wide sample and a high level of external validity. Next, I conducted two-round survey experiments to explore the causal inference. The results support my hypotheses. This dissertation explores the interaction between the living environment and human psychological states and enriches the knowledge of emotions, self-efficacy, and opportunity beliefs. This research has important implications for neighborhood revitalization, neighborhood governance, public health, poverty reduction and redistributive policy.
