A study carried out in India suggests old ideas about caste and class may linger -- hampering the aspirations of millions -- even in system that celebrates education and meritocracy.

The promise of democratic capitalism relies on meritocracy -- the idea that if people study and work hard enough, they'll be rewarded for their efforts, regardless of background, race, religion, creed or color.

It's no secret that the principle of meritocracy sometimes proves an illusion. But it does its job as long as people trust in its relative truth. In India, making decisions based upon the caste system is illegal.

But researchers polling both adults and children in India found that faith in meritocracy isn't everlasting, and that doubts about meritocracy are correlated with the influence of the caste system on person's way of thinking.

"This is one of the first studies to show a real link between a cultural system of social stratification and how we view our own life's possibilities," lead study author Mahesh Srinivasan, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, explained in a press release.

During the study, half of school children, between the ages of 7 and 18, who responded to the survey, identified themselves as Other Backward Class (OBC) -- a collective term used by Indians for disadvantaged members of society. An OBC designation, similar to affirmative action, can help secure a person access to job or scholarship.

Additionally, the survey asked both adults and children a series of questions to gauge the level of influence caste-based thinking had on each respondent's answers. Those who were deemed to be more influenced by caste-based thinking were more likely to agree with statements like: "The kind of person someone is cannot be changed very much."

Those influenced by more conservative ideas were also more likely to disagree with statements like: "If a low caste child works hard, they can accomplish as much in life as a high caste child" and "People have complete control over life's decisions."

"These findings suggest that the culture in which a child is raised may shape wide-ranging beliefs about the nature of their own abilities, traits, and life possibilities," Srinivasan said. "We hope that by raising awareness of how cultural messages may affect individual mindsets, we can develop interventions to promote better life outcomes for individuals across socioeconomic strata."

The research was published this week in the journal Developmental Science.