Why do some people regularly attend the opera, visit art galleries, or go to classical music concerts—while others rarely, if ever, do?
The easy answer might be, "They can't afford it." But according to recent research from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management, the real explanation goes far beyond money.
The new paper — published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research and coauthored by Joe Gladstone , an assistant professor of behavioral sciences and marketing at the Rady School — studied roughly 7,500 people in the United Kingdom and the United States to understand what actually drives participation in so-called "highbrow" cultural activities.
Their findings reveal that a person's education, vocabulary, and social networks are much stronger predictors of cultural engagement than however much is in their bank account.
"In the UK, we found that cultural capital — things like education, knowledge, and linguistic ability — was the strongest predictor of who engages with highbrow culture," said Gladstone. "In the US, it was social capital—your networks, group memberships, and occupational status—that dominated. Economic capital mattered, but much less than you'd think."
The researchers' results challenge a long-held assumption that ticket prices or income are the main barriers keeping people out of museums, theaters, or concert halls. While affordability certainly plays a role, the study suggests that cultural participation is also shaped by how comfortable or connected people feel within those spaces.
"Imagine being invited to an art opening where everyone seems to speak a language you don't quite understand," said Gladstone. "Even if you could afford the ticket, you might not feel like you belong. That's part of what we're seeing—these are social and cultural boundaries, not just financial ones."
Drawing on large-scale survey data from both countries, Gladstone and coauthor Silvia Bellezza of Columbia Business School, used indicators of cultural, social, and economic capital to predict engagement in highbrow cultural experiences. Cultural capital included measures such as education level and vocabulary tests; social capital captured network strength and occupational prestige; and economic capital accounted for income and wealth.
When they compared across countries, a striking pattern emerged. In the UK — where class and education hierarchies remain more rigid — cultural capital dominated. In the US — where social mobility and networking play a larger role — social capital took the lead.
"If inclusive cultural spaces are the goal, reducing cost matters — but so too does equipping people with the cultural language and social connections to feel they belong," Gladstone and Bellezza said.
The findings have implications for arts organizations, educators, and policymakers seeking to broaden access to cultural life. Programs that focus on outreach, mentorship, and arts education — especially those that introduce young people to the language and norms of cultural institutions — may help close the gap more effectively than subsidies alone.
The authors conclude that the results underscore how culture is both deeply personal and profoundly social.
"We often think of art and music as individual tastes," Gladstone said. "But in reality, they're part of the social fabric — woven through our education, our friendships, and our sense of identity."
Read the full study, More Than Money: The Relative Importance of Cultural, Social, and Economic Capital for Highbrow Cultural Experiences .
