In books, movies, and fairy tales, poor characters are often portrayed as having hearts of gold. Prominent examples include Cinderella, Oliver Twist, and the Weasley family from the Harry Potter series. On the other hand, rich characters like Regina George from Mean Girls, the Evil Queen from Snow White, or Mr. Burns from The Simpsons are portrayed as stingy and insensitive. But is there any truth to these stereotypes?
A new and extensive study presents a completely different picture. According to the study's findings, which analyzed data from over 2.3 million people worldwide over five decades, it turns out that rich people tend to be more generous.
Researchers from the Netherlands, China, and Germany analyzed results from 471 independent studies conducted since 1968. These studies examined the relationship between social status (defined by income and education) and “pro-social” behaviors – actions intended to help others or society as a whole.
The pro-social behaviors examined included helping others, sharing, donating, cooperating, volunteering, comforting another person, and showing concern for animals. The data represented a wide range of populations – children, adolescents, and adults – from 60 different societies, including China, the U.S., Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden, and Australia.
The results showed that, in general, the higher the social status, the higher the level of pro-social behavior. According to Professor Paul van Lange, a psychologist from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and one of the study’s lead researchers, the difference may be small but is statistically significant.
The study found that the connection between higher social status and increased pro-social behavior held true across different age groups, societies, continents, and cultural regions. "Regardless of how we measured social status, we found a small positive correlation between higher social status and more pro-social behavior," van Lange explained to The Times.
The researchers offer a relatively simple explanation: Limited resources make pro-social behavior more “costly” for people of lower status. In other words, poorer people may not be able to afford to be generous – even if they want to be.
Supporting this, the study found that the correlation was stronger for actual behavior than for declared intention – suggesting that people with lower incomes indeed want to be generous but simply cannot act on it.
Professor van Lange offers another interesting explanation: People from lower social classes might be “more pro-social toward those around them and not toward people in general.” That is, they may be more generous within their close-knit community but less so toward strangers or society at large – a phenomenon that could explain the study’s findings.
Another interesting finding is that the connection between higher social status and pro-social behavior was stronger in situations where others could observe the generous acts. This suggests that people of higher status like to be seen as generous, likely because of the social advantages that come with it.
The new study, led by Junhui Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, could help address structural barriers to pro-sociality among people of lower social status. According to the researchers, “This study can inform policymakers and professionals about potential interventions that could promote cooperation and pro-social behavior across diverse social classes.”
Other studies have found that pro-social behavior may be linked to different factors. For example, a study from last year showed that the tendency toward pro-social behavior may depend on sleep quality. Another study found that gift-giving – a classic pro-social act – can reduce blood pressure and heart rate in the giver, suggesting a significant health benefit.
Despite the surprising results of the main study, a 2020 study offers a hopeful note: People generally choose to be generous to others, even at their own expense and regardless of external motives.
In that study, participants were asked to give money to others. The researchers assumed that the participants would expect something in return for their generosity, but the results were surprising: The experiment revealed that volunteers were usually willing to give money to strangers without any ulterior motive – simply out of a desire to help another person.