> '“examiners” scored individuals lower on the same task when they were told that the pupil came from a less privileged background.' I'm not sure how well-back

> '“examiners” scored individuals lower on the same task when they were told that the pupil came from a less privileged background.' I'm not sure how well-backed-up the assertions actually were (I've not followed up on the references) but the well-regarded and sometimes recommended-on-this-very-site Influence by Cialdini has a chapter on the effects of appearance on others, and especially of wealth/class markers. In particular, it claims a study was conducted that found that pretty much no-one thinks they would defer more readily, when driving, to an expensive-looking car than a cheap-looking one, but in fact people do (in this case, IIRC, waiting longer for them to go after their light turns green before honking) and to a very large degree. Apparently these kinds of results are pretty typical for research along those lines, i.e. self-reported versus actual deference to people who simply look rich/"classy"/powerful, even absent any directly-relevant hierarchy in the equation (i.e. just strangers on otherwise equal footing).