A new study suggests that people who become affluent have less sympathy for the poor than the born rich do
By Susan Pinker of The WSJ. Excerpts:
"Consider celebrities . . . who grew up poor and succeeded through outsize talent and sheer grit. Those who were born rich, however, don’t get the same respect. In a 2012 Pew Research Survey, just 27% of respondents said they admired the rich, but when a follow-up question asked whether they admired those who had earned their wealth, 88% agreed."
"This gap is explored in a recent study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. The lead author, Hyunjin Koo, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of California, Irvine"
"The research team . . . included psychology professors Paul Piff at U.C. Irvine and Azim Shariff at the University of British Columbia"
"people considered the “became rich” more likable and also expected them to be more supportive of the less fortunate."
"the researchers discovered that people who inherited their wealth were more likely to sympathize with those living in poverty and also more likely to support policies that would give the poor a leg up.
It’s the reverse of what one might expect. “People assume that those who had to climb the ladder better understand the struggle and therefore will be more sympathetic to the poor. Maybe they do understand, but the conclusion they come to is that it’s actually less of a struggle and thus less sympathy is in order,” said Prof. Shariff."
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