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posted by martyb on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the poverty-sucks dept.

The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. We hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypothesis. First, we experimentally induced thoughts about finances and found that this reduces cognitive performance among poor but not in well-off participants. Second, we examined the cognitive function of farmers over the planting cycle. We found that the same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance before harvest, when poor, as compared with after harvest, when rich. This cannot be explained by differences in time available, nutrition, or work effort. Nor can it be explained with stress: Although farmers do show more stress before harvest, that does not account for diminished cognitive performance. Instead, it appears that poverty itself reduces cognitive capacity. We suggest that this is because poverty-related concerns consume mental resources, leaving less for other tasks. These data provide a previously unexamined perspective and help explain a spectrum of behaviors among the poor. We discuss some implications for poverty policy.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6149/976


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:51PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:51PM (#758535)

    Nonsense, I know people with middle class incomes who are depressed and constantly in debt because they take 12 vacations a year

    What if those vacations are what keeps them barely functional and somewhat productive? like, If they didn't take them maybe they wouldn't be able to hold the/a job at all. That would make the vacations a legitimate need for them.

    There was some research over the years showing workers that didn't consume caffeine, tobacco and (especially) alcohol couldn't hold their jobs for more than a few weeks. Getting drunk by the end of the shift was literally what kept all the long timers around. So many now that people drink and smoke less some folks need to break routines much more often. The 2 vs. 3 days weekend research papers definitely support this claim.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @04:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @04:16PM (#758556)

    Even so, it's still not necessary to take expensive vacations that put you in debt. There are cheaper ways to enjoy time off.