研究:发现富人更自私

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.

很少有人会同情那些在最近这次股市大跌中损失百万的富人。但一项新研究揭示，富人们一般也不会关心那些辛辛苦苦地量入为出的穷人。

根据心理学家、社会科学家达彻尔•凯尔特纳的研究，富人们通常以自我为中心，他们只关心自己的幸福。

凯尔特纳说，他们有了很多钱后反而变得“更没有同情心，更不会为他人着想，而且往往变得更自私”。

他说富人们有一种“利己主义思想”，更多地会为自己着想，而那些没这么有钱的人则更可能帮助别人。

他说：“我们已完成的12项独立研究对所有能想到的移情方式、各种社会行为进行了衡量，并对同情心进行了研究，得出的结果都是一样的。”

“不管你是如何看待这一现象的，但处于社会更底层的人们确实更能为他人着想，会做出更多善意的亲社会行为，更有同情心。”

凯尔特纳是加州大学伯克利分校的心理学教授，他说富人们更专注于自身。他说财富、教育、声望和更高的社会地位给了他们只关心自己的自由权利。

为了证明他的观点，凯尔特纳用视频记录下了不同群体的对话。他说富人们表现得更心不在焉，不时查看一下手机、写写画画，避免眼神交流。

而那些收入较少的人则与他们的交谈对象有更多的眼神交流，也会更频繁地点头示意他们对所谈论的事情感兴趣。

这位心理学家还采用了一个115人参加的“独裁者游戏”中的数据。

参与游戏的人将与一个看不见的伙伴配对，每个人将获得代表金钱的10分，他们被告知可以根据自己的意愿，和这个搭档分享随意多少分值。

在将性别、年龄、种族等因素考虑在内的情况下，社会更底层的参与者给出的“钱”还是比富人多。

美国心理学家的这一调查结果已经发表在《心理科学最新动向》杂志上，题为《社会阶层中的文化：社会领域中资源和等级的交会》。