PDA

View Full Version : Why the rich 'are such a selfish, less empathetic and less altruistic lot'



Serpo
11th August 2011, 02:45 PM
By Paul Thompson (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Paul++Thompson)

Last updated at 11:39 AM on 11th August 2011




(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2024680/Why-rich-selfish-empathetic-altruistic-lot.html#comments)


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 to 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.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-2024680-016BAF9800000578-801_468x518.jpg It's all about them: Wealthier people are more interested in themselves and check their phones more in group situations, the study found

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.


More...



Narcissists rise to the top because people think their confidence, dominance, and authority make them good leaders when the opposite is true (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2024577/Narcissists-rise-people-think-confidence-dominance-authority-make-good-leaders-opposite-true.html)


'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.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-2024680-005C387F00000258-925_468x286.jpg The study showed that people of a lower class had more empathy and compassion to others than those who were richer

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.
In another test Keltner studied the response of rich people and those on lower income to pictures of starving children from Africa.
Sensors attached to their chest were able to record the response from the vagus nerve which helps the brain record and respond to emotional images.
He said those test subjects from lower income had more intense activation.
The psychologist also used data from getting 115 from people play 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.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2024680/Why-rich-selfish-empathetic-altruistic-lot.html

Ash_Williams
11th August 2011, 02:54 PM
Maybe the rich started out the same but learned more about how the world is.

I used to have a lot more compassion. I saw that it generally was a disadvantage to myself AND the person I had compassion for.

horseshoe3
11th August 2011, 03:17 PM
My dealings with rich have been the opposite of what the OP states.

But the rich people I deal with are self made millionaires not Wall Street made billionaires. I'm sure there's a difference.

mrnhtbr2232
11th August 2011, 03:26 PM
I have a good friend who is homeless on the streets of San Francisco that I frequently encounter. He is the most upbeat and compassionate person I've ever met - and he is totally broke. On the flip-side, I have worked for wealthy clients that have been absolute pricks and negative about everything. I conclude from this that being rich includes a built-in necessity to defend material and financial gain like a lion guarding a carcass against other predators.

The poor guy has nothing anyone wants, and yet sees the world as his and considers himself wealthy. The rich guy has what everyone wants, and yet sees the world as something others own and considers himself financially inadequate even if he's a millionaire. I have not learned much from the rich except they are indeed selfish. But I have learned a lot from my homeless friend, whom I have gotten to know, shared my money with, and have a human-to-human interaction with. He gave up on materialism and comfort by choice and has managed to prevail because of his perspective on life.

Do I want to be homeless? No. But I would not mind having the perspective on life that no matter how others look down on you, having the ability to appreciate life and do no harm is more important than all the money on earth. The rich would scoff at that of course, but at the end of the day my friend is grateful to eat a hot meal and talk about art of the renaissance (he is homeless, but he is not uneducated). People with heart and good souls do not need money. And we do not need to judge them if they don't.

midnight rambler
11th August 2011, 03:29 PM
Because many of them are sociopaths, a higher percentage than the general population.