New study says poor people are kinder and more compassionate

Post by **Winston** » December 27th, 2011, 11:35 am

That's a good article Steve. I'll try to use it somewhere. But this is common sense. I don't know why they needed a study to prove this. Here is the full text of it:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/fa ... to-be-kind

Poor People May Be Quicker to Be Kind

TUESDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Poor people are quicker than middle-class or rich individuals to recognize the suffering of others and to show compassion, according to a new study.

It included more than 300 young adults who were divided into groups that took part in three experiments designed to assess their levels of empathy and compassion.

The findings challenge previous research that concluded lower-class people are more likely to react with anxiety and hostility when faced with adversity, said the researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

"These latest results indicate that there's a culture of compassion and cooperation among lower-class individuals that may be born out of threats to their well-being," study author and social psychologist Jennifer Stellar said in a university news release.

"It's not that the upper classes are cold-hearted. They may just not be as adept at recognizing the cues and signals of suffering because they haven't had to deal with as many obstacles in their lives," she explained.

The findings, published online Dec. 12 in the journal Emotion, suggest a scientific basis for emotional differences between the rich and poor that are depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as "A Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities."

The results also indicate that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may do better in cooperative settings than those who are wealthy.

"Upper-class individuals appear to be more self-focused, they've grown up with more freedom and autonomy," Stellar said. "They may do better in an individualist, competitive environment."

More information

For more on compassion, go to the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University.

NorthAmericanguy · December 27th, 2011, 1:42 pm

Poor people are just like anybody else, the difference is, because they are poor they have no power or leverage so they have to hide how they truly feel to make sure they get what they need in life as they are more dependent on others for their basic survival.

You want to see a poor person change give he/she a million dollars and no longer will they be so nice and compassionate because they don't have to care anymore.

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » December 27th, 2011, 4:13 pm

I have noticed that poor people are friendly and more compassionate than rich people. Studies have shown that the poorer a country is, the friendlier the people are.

As they say, it's better to give than receive.

ssjparris · Post by **ssjparris** » December 27th, 2011, 4:52 pm

whoa man. i learned this awhile back actually.

the poorer the country the more communal the people will be. more friendliness, more connectedness, and openess when it comes to women..

the richer the country the more selfish they become, more uptightness, unfriendliness, and unkind too.

this is why i am planning on moving to a country that is poor like russia, mexico, east europe. ukraine is getting rich now. so it will be interesting to see how things change there.

all in all no matter how wealthy i become i will always belong with poor people. because there is more life in them then rich. i'll just have to blend in and not stand out as a wealthy person...

ssjparris · Post by **ssjparris** » December 27th, 2011, 4:54 pm

NorthAmericanguy wrote:Poor people are just like anybody else, the difference is, because they are poor they have no power or leverage so they have to hide how they truly feel to make sure they get what they need in life as they are more dependent on others for their basic survival.

You want to see a poor person change give he/she a million dollars and no longer will they be so nice and compassionate because they don't have to care anymore.

its that damn dollar bill man it changes people. it changes a nation too. in order for there to be more peace with people. money HAS got to GO. it must leave for people to treat eachother like human beings again.

Post by **Winston** » December 28th, 2012, 9:35 pm

Here are two more news articles about the UC Berkeley study that shows that poor people are kinder and more compassionate.

Lower classes quicker to show compassion in the face of suffering
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/12/ ... andincome/

How Wealth Reduces Compassion
As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline
http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... compassion

I wonder why universities like UC Berkeley have to do studies to prove something that we all know by common sense? lol

E_Irizarry · Post by **E_Irizarry** » December 28th, 2012, 11:26 pm

That's that bullshit.

Poorer people are also very ignorant and devoid of deciphering cultural differences between different people's phenotypes.

E.g.: Me and a Mexican-American dude are speaking English (he can speak both Spanish and English and is westernized-as-f**k)...time elapses....let's
say after 10 minutes. Then he says something ignorant without meaning harm:

We are both watching a video on my smartphone...and he wanted to show me two Nigerian girls twerking and dutty-wining.

Then I say, "Eeeeewwww yucks".

He retorts, "Yucks? Dude, those are your peoples! How can you say that?"

LIKE FCKIN' SERIOUSLY HE'S THAT DUMB (AND HE'S FROM A LOWER MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY)
DISSclaimer: I never told him I was Black - ever.

1) I'm not Nigerian
2) I'm not even Black.
3) Again: Think of Vin Diesel, Christopher Williams (R&B singer), and Cuba Gooding Jr. going through the BrundleFly teleporter to make a Brazilian. There. Fixed.