LIFE at the bottom is nasty, brutish and short. It is assumed that people in the lower social classes will be more self-interested and less inclined to consider the welfare of others than upper-class individuals. A recent study reported this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggest precisely the opposite. It is the poor, not the rich, who are inclined to charity.
Dr Piff, of the the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the increased compassion which seems to exist among the poor increases generosity and helpfulness, and promotes a level of trust and co-operation that can prove essential for survival during hard times.
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