From: The Telegraph
Poor children more generous than their rich counterparts, study finds
The Telegraph:
Even as four-year-olds, poor people are more generous than their richer counterparts, an altruism experiment suggests. Psychologists also found that teaching pre-school children to help those in need can lead to them being healthier later in life. Researchers from the University of California carried out an altruism experiment on 74 children aged four.
During the experiment, the children played games that would earn them tokens which they could swap for prizes at the end.
…
The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, found that those who were the most generous at their own expense were more able to control their stress levels via the vagus nerve.
Controlling this nerve, which regulates stress from the brain to the body, leads to better physical and mental health as they grow up, the researchers said.
Read the whole story: The Telegraph
Comments
This article was very interesting. Not only from the neuroscience point of view, but it also sparks curiosity from the nature vs nurture point of view. Is generosity a part of everyone’s psychological make-up or is it taught through up-bringing?
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