Assignment Begin by reading the passage below.
The Rich Are Different
Looking for empathy and support? You're more likely to get it from a poor person than you are
from a rich one, according to new research published in Psychological Science.
In a series of experiments, the new study found that lower-class people were better at reading
emotions on others' faces - one measure of what researchers call empathic accuracy than
people in the upper class. "A lot of what we see is a baseline orientation for the lower class to be
more empathetic and the upper class to be less (so)," says Michael Kraus, a co-author of the
study and a postdoctoral student at the University of California, San Francisco.
Why might that be? "Lower-class environments are much different from upper-class
environments," explains Kraus. "Lower-class individuals have to respond chronically to a number
of vulnerabilities and social threats. You really need to depend on others so they will tell you if a
social threat or opportunity is coming and that makes you more perceptive of emotions.
Study co-author Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California,
Berkeley, agrees that people in lower socioeconomic classes "live lives defined by threat. They
are threatened by the environment, by institutions and by other people. One of most adaptive
strategies in response to threat is to be very vigilant and carefully attend to others and try to
promote cooperation to build strong alliances."
An earlier study by the sacre researchers found that those of lower socioeconomic status were
also more helpful and generous, suggesting that it's not just empathic accuracy but empathy
itself that may be enhanced by circumstance. "Coming from an environment where you're more
vulnerable, you solve problems by turning to others," says Kraus. That increases empathy and
strengthens social bonds.
Adapted from Maia Szalavitz, "The Rich Are Different: More Money, Less Empathy," Time
Healthland 24 Nov. 2010.
+. Write an essay ussing above the passage. Explain the main point author making. Share what you think about the authors main point and support your opinion by connecting it with your personal experience/ what you have read or seen on tv social media about the topic. It due by july 16 please can write it for me. It's a humble request.