Lack of money reduces IQ. This is according to researchers from Princeton and Harvard Universities. They concluded that poverty "consumes brainpower that would otherwise go to less pressing concerns, planning and problem-solving".
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Eldar Shafir and Sendhil Mullainathan studied sugar cane farmers in India. These farmers get most of their income in a lump sum once or twice a year, most of it at harvest time. They have a very different financial life from most workers who get paid monthly, for instance.
Even if a farmer is careful and tries to spread the money over the next year until the next cash injection, by the last few months leading up to harvest, he will probably still struggle. "The same farmer is rich in the months after harvest and poor in the months before harvest."
The farmers were asked to do an IQ test just before and just after the harvest. The participants scored terribly before the harvest, i.e. while they were poor. Their average score was 14 points lower than their scores for tests taken just after the harvest!
The researchers concluded that deprivation preoccupies people's people's minds with troubles that cause ongoing mental deficiencies and lead to self-defeating actions. In short, poverty diminishes mental capacity, causing people to engage in fruitless, or even harmful, activities
The researchers concluded that it's not that the poor make more dumb decisions. It is only that "in the context of poverty, the consequences are much more severe than when you have more comfort," according to Shafir.
Shafir continues to add that "there's a very particular psychology that emerges when we don't have enough and [this] psychology leads to very bad outcomes."
According to the research, some reasons given for seemingly poor judgement in poverty include mental capacity...
According to the research, some reasons given for seemingly poor judgement in poverty include mental capacity...
You see, humans have limited mental capacity. And so, when we focus heavily on one thing, there is less mental capacity to devote to other things. As we use more to deal with scarcity, there is less for other things, many of which are critical for dealing with the poverty itself.
Having to dedicate so much brainpower to dealing with poverty has social consequences. Poor people don't do well in many areas of their lives. They are often poor parents than those with more money. Many poor men cannot perform fatherly duties or even be present at all.
There is a definite connection between poverty and a lack of self-preservation. You might have noticed that poor people litter more, exercise less, drink more, and borrow more. The poor are also less diligent and thorough in doing tasks compared to people with more money.
There is a definite connection between poverty and a lack of self-preservation. Poor people litter more, exercise less, drink more, and borrow more, even when it's unnecessary to do so. The poor are also less diligent and thorough in doing tasks compared to people with more money
The studies further show that "an overtaxed bandwidth" reduces the ability to process new information. "How much of a lecture will you absorb if your mind constantly gets pulled away?" This "tax" means that the poor have fewer mental resources to exert self-control, for example.
Shafir and Mullainathan conclude that "people who look very bad in conditions of scarcity are just as capable as the rest of us when scarcity does not impose itself on their minds." The consequences of preoccupation with scarcity are worse than even the victims themselves realise
Considering the above, I believe there is merit in the theory that there is a deliberate effort to keep the majority of people poor, as they are far more easier to control than they would be if they were not so preoccupied with deprivation. Poor minds don't work very well.
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Sources:
Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir (Book)
youtube.com
apa.org
Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir (Book)
youtube.com
apa.org
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