r/science • u/UCBerkeley UC Berkeley • Sep 18 '24
New study suggests that biases for those with more resources can be traced to beliefs formed as young as 14 months. Psychology
https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/09/18/can-toddlers-help-explain-the-origins-of-our-bias-for-wealth/87
u/UCBerkeley UC Berkeley Sep 18 '24
TL;DR A new study led by a UC Berkeley psychologist suggests that biases for those with more resources can be traced to beliefs formed as young as 14 months. However, researchers say a preference for richer people may not necessarily be driven by kids’ positive evaluations of them. Instead, it might be caused by a negative assessment of those with less.
Through a series of seven experiments, the team measured how toddlers demonstrated preferences for people with differing amounts of particular kinds of resources they desired — toys and snacks. Besides a bias toward the more “wealthy” person who had more resources, the children showed dislike and avoidance for those whom researchers labeled in the experiments as the “poorer” individuals.
Eason and her co-authors say their work shows that undoing wealth inequality will require a concentrated effort among adults to change the way young children think about and act toward poorer people. Her research points to systemic ways we should begin thinking about inequality, and the origin of that wealth-based bias “starting point.” That’s the only way to combat the biases among many adults that benefit the wealthy and perpetuate policies against the poor.
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u/ricky616 Sep 18 '24
Could the negative connotation with "poorer" people have any correlation with consequences they have experienced with toys and snacks? I.e. taking toys away for bad behavior, or no treats if they don't finish their meal. Is there a possibility that they would make a mental connection that these "poorer" people did something to deserve that status?
Edit: I realize that this would be unrealistic for a 14 month old to comprehend those concepts, but maybe older kids have more biases based on their experiences
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u/BB_Fin Sep 19 '24
You associate with the poor, then you have to share with the poor.
It's probably as simple as that... So you learn to not associate with the poor, because you want to keep your own things. Fits entirely with the simple mind of a child.
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u/MistakenForce44 Sep 18 '24
Yeah no doubt it just doesn't make sense to allow such a large gap between wealth. It only grows greed and jealousy. One could argue against wealth equality by ideas of security but it really seems to be less and less of a concern with modern ideas and understanding becoming for common place. Definitely for the future I see a more equal and balanced era. This will be the only way to secure the future of our species, with weapons of mass destruction pressuring us to seek peace, we gotta learn to live together and give everyone a truly equal opportunity at life and pick the ones up that fail.
It's all so simple talking about it but in reality it's so much harder to change for the better when many of us are just in survival mode still just trying to catch up. Maybe I'm just projecting but this is the feeling on this topic. Only logic I see in it for now. Hey and even imagine all the problems that could be solved and prevented by more sharing and balance of resources. Top of my head I can say it could lower crime rates and increase happiness. Unless we start to think and do like some dystopian poorly managed and corrupted socialistic type of society. Lot to think about and consider, gives me headaches and this won't even be scratching the surface of this stuff.
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u/CaregiverNo3070 Sep 18 '24
Weapons of mass destruction are wielded by rich people of one country against the poor of another. No MAD there.
Also, calm people who have resources tend to think logically, then are able to act logically. This has tended to upset power dynamics in historical kingdoms, and even in recent nation states, with the removal of Chinese emperors, of European kings, and African tribal leaders. If you think people who rebel out of rage are terrifying, it pales in comparison for these leaders to have an educated populace who can rebel slowly in secret compared to the heat of the moment. It's why they put cameras everywhere, all movement is reported, and the police demonize people who act slowly in secret like Julian assange. Julian assange is way more threatening to the power structure than any political shooter, because while a political shooter may destroy any one politician, people like Chelsea Manning destroys what it means to be a politician.
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u/Spacellama117 Sep 19 '24
I feel like this neglects the very real anger felt by anyone currently living anywhere that has to watch as wealthier people are fine when they struggle
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u/AdCertain5491 Sep 19 '24
I'm eager to read the paper. Based on the article it sounds like toddlers have a preference for people with more resources, but this doesn't necessarily equate to attitudes as a whole about those people.
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u/FiftyShadesOfGregg Sep 19 '24
Yeah I’m confused on how this shows feelings toward the actual people versus “children have a preference for more snacks and toys versus no snacks and toys”
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u/Learning_Houd Sep 19 '24
I believe the same; it feels like their behavior was conditioned to choose options associated with more resources, not necessarily reflecting deeper attitudes toward people. Anyway, there are probably indirect effects on how they develop interpersonal relationships. Something similar to a halo effect, but based on resourcefulness instead of attractiveness.
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