The study showed that people of a lower class had more empathy and compassion to others than those who were richer. |
Few people have much sympathy for the rich who have lost millions in the latest share price crash. But then a new study has revealed the wealthy are unlikely to be bothered about those who are struggling to make ends meet. According to psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner the rich are usually self-obsessed and only worried about their own well being. Keltner said they were 'less empathetic, less altruistic and generally more selfish' as a result of having so much money. He said they have an 'ideology of self interest' and more likely to think about themselves whereas those less well off were more likely to help others. 'We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behaviour in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,' he said. 'Lower class people just show more empathy, more prosocial behavior, more compassion, no matter how you look at it.' Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, said the rich tend to stay focused on themselves. He said wealth, education and prestige and a higher station in life gave them the freedom to only worry about themselves. To prove his point Keltner video recorded various groups of people in conversation. He said rich people appeared more distracted, checking mobile phones, doodling and avoiding eye contact. Those on lower income made eye contact with the person they were talking with and nod their heads more frequently signaling they were interested in what was being said. The psychologist also used data from 115 people playing what is called the 'dictator game'. Those involved were paired with an unseen partner, given ten 'points' that represented money, and told they could share as many or as few of the points with the partner as they desired. Lower-class participants gave more away even after controlling for gender, age or ethnicity. The American psychologists findings were published in an article called 'Social Class as Culture: The Convergence of Resources and Rank in the Social Realm,' and published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
很少有人會(huì)同情那些在最近這次股市大跌中損失百萬的富人。但一項(xiàng)新研究揭示,富人們一般也不會(huì)關(guān)心那些辛辛苦苦地量入為出的窮人。 根據(jù)心理學(xué)家、社會(huì)科學(xué)家達(dá)徹爾?凱爾特納的研究,富人們通常以自我為中心,他們只關(guān)心自己的幸福。 凱爾特納說,他們有了很多錢后反而變得“更沒有同情心,更不會(huì)為他人著想,而且往往變得更自私”。 他說富人們有一種“利己主義思想”,更多地會(huì)為自己著想,而那些沒這么有錢的人則更可能幫助別人。 他說:“我們已完成的12項(xiàng)獨(dú)立研究對(duì)所有能想到的移情方式、各種社會(huì)行為進(jìn)行了衡量,并對(duì)同情心進(jìn)行了研究,得出的結(jié)果都是一樣的。” “不管你是如何看待這一現(xiàn)象的,但處于社會(huì)更底層的人們確實(shí)更能為他人著想,會(huì)做出更多善意的親社會(huì)行為,更有同情心?!?/p> 凱爾特納是加州大學(xué)伯克利分校的心理學(xué)教授,他說富人們更專注于自身。他說財(cái)富、教育、聲望和更高的社會(huì)地位給了他們只關(guān)心自己的自由權(quán)利。 為了證明他的觀點(diǎn),凱爾特納用視頻記錄下了不同群體的對(duì)話。他說富人們表現(xiàn)得更心不在焉,不時(shí)查看一下手機(jī)、寫寫畫畫,避免眼神交流。 而那些收入較少的人則與他們的交談對(duì)象有更多的眼神交流,也會(huì)更頻繁地點(diǎn)頭示意他們對(duì)所談?wù)摰氖虑楦信d趣。 這位心理學(xué)家還采用了一個(gè)115人參加的“獨(dú)裁者游戲”中的數(shù)據(jù)。 參與游戲的人將與一個(gè)看不見的伙伴配對(duì),每個(gè)人將獲得代表金錢的10分,他們被告知可以根據(jù)自己的意愿,和這個(gè)搭檔分享隨意多少分值。 在將性別、年齡、種族等因素考慮在內(nèi)的情況下,社會(huì)更底層的參與者給出的“錢”還是比富人多。 美國心理學(xué)家的這一調(diào)查結(jié)果已經(jīng)發(fā)表在《心理科學(xué)最新動(dòng)向》雜志上,題為《社會(huì)階層中的文化:社會(huì)領(lǐng)域中資源和等級(jí)的交會(huì)》。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 實(shí)習(xí)生沈清 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: make ends meet: 使收支相抵;勉強(qiáng)維持生計(jì) empathetic: 同情的,有同感的 altruistic: 無私的,為他人著想的,利他的 prosocial: 親社會(huì)的,忠實(shí)于既定社會(huì)道德準(zhǔn)則的 doodle: (心不在焉地)亂畫 convergence: 會(huì)合;會(huì)聚 |