Social Classes and Their Influence on Social Behavior
Social Classes and Their Influence on Social Behavior
Jade Tennis
Indiana State University
30 November 2010
Psychology 101-004
Social Classes and Their Influence on Social Behavior
Our role in society plays a big part of who we are. More importantly how generous we are toward others in need. People of lower class have a tendency to be more dependent on other whereas people of upper class are more independent. Lower class people act more prosocial fashion due to an increased orientation of others needs. Some say that lower class people help others as a way of adapting to their hostile environments by being greater at prosocial behavior than upper class people. This research study aims to find out if lower class people act proscial because of trying to compensate for their life’s by helping others, or if they just have a higher sense of others needs. Does class matter on how generous we are to others?
In this case study different groups of people where brought together and filled out questionnaires and took part in test games. The games and questionnaires are designed to test upper and lower class people’s levels of generosity. Each test consisted of a different group of people. In each group there were both men and women and people of different ethnic backgrounds. The first test was a test of generosity called the “dictator game”. This game is designed to see how much will be sacrificed to give to the well-being of another person. In the game participants where given ten points. Participants can either keep their points or give some away to their partners. The participants were told that their partners would have no input in what could be done with the points or the outcome of the game. The pay out would depend on how many points were left at the end of the game. At the end of the game participants were debriefed and given ten dollars regardless of their points. In this first study it shows that gender didn’t play a role in the outcome, but social
Jade Tennis
Indiana State University
30 November 2010
Psychology 101-004
Social Classes and Their Influence on Social Behavior
Our role in society plays a big part of who we are. More importantly how generous we are toward others in need. People of lower class have a tendency to be more dependent on other whereas people of upper class are more independent. Lower class people act more prosocial fashion due to an increased orientation of others needs. Some say that lower class people help others as a way of adapting to their hostile environments by being greater at prosocial behavior than upper class people. This research study aims to find out if lower class people act proscial because of trying to compensate for their life’s by helping others, or if they just have a higher sense of others needs. Does class matter on how generous we are to others?
In this case study different groups of people where brought together and filled out questionnaires and took part in test games. The games and questionnaires are designed to test upper and lower class people’s levels of generosity. Each test consisted of a different group of people. In each group there were both men and women and people of different ethnic backgrounds. The first test was a test of generosity called the “dictator game”. This game is designed to see how much will be sacrificed to give to the well-being of another person. In the game participants where given ten points. Participants can either keep their points or give some away to their partners. The participants were told that their partners would have no input in what could be done with the points or the outcome of the game. The pay out would depend on how many points were left at the end of the game. At the end of the game participants were debriefed and given ten dollars regardless of their points. In this first study it shows that gender didn’t play a role in the outcome, but social
References: Piff, P. K., Kraus, M. W., Cheng, B. H., & Keltner, D. (2010, July 12). Having Less, Giving More:The Influence of Social Class on Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0020092