People are kinder in poorer environments than rich ones, new study reveals
People are more likely to act helpfully when they are surrounded by fewer and less attractive options, challenging assumptions that generosity flourishes in richer environments, according to new research published in Nature Communications.
The study, led by academics from the University of Birmingham and conducted with colleagues from Oxford University and the University of East Anglia, analysed how people decide whether to help others when faced with different levels of choice and reward. Drawing on three experiments involving more than 500 participants, the researchers found that individuals placed in poorer environments were consistently more willing to act generously than those in richer settings.
Dr Todd Vogel of the University of Birmingham, the study’s first author, said the findings reveal how everyday contexts shape moral decision-making. “Our study shows that the different opportunities in daily life can make a significant difference in how willing people are to stop what they are doing to help others,” he said.
He explained that earlier research had focused largely on personal traits, overlooking situational factors. “Previous research has looked at how willing people are to be helpful or not, but we didn't know that a key factor is the person's environment and context they are in. We may not realize it, but the choices we encounter in everyday life can really impact our decision-making for ourselves and other people.”
The experiments were designed to test real-world generosity rather than abstract intentions. Participants were asked to stop watching a film in order to help an anonymous person by donating monetary credits. They were told they were operating either in a “rich” or a “poor” environment, each offering different types of opportunities.
In the poor environment, participants repeatedly encountered low-quality choices involving small rewards with low chances of success. In contrast, those in the rich environment were offered more appealing options, with higher rewards and greater certainty. Despite the limited incentives, participants in the poorer environment were significantly more likely to interrupt their activity and help.
To mirror the effort often required in everyday acts of generosity, participants who chose to help had to perform physically demanding tasks, such as squeezing a hand-grip device or repeatedly clicking boxes. The researchers said this element was crucial in testing genuine prosocial behaviour rather than passive goodwill.
Professor Patricia Lockwood, senior corresponding author of the study, said the findings speak directly to long-standing debates in social psychology. “One of the ongoing debates in social psychology is whether generosity is more common among people with lower income or financial well-being,” she said.
She added that the study offers fresh evidence by focusing on environmental conditions rather than income alone. “We believe that our study is the first to robustly test the impact of people's environment when making helpful decisions, and suggests that the environment has a significant impact, and that poorer environments can drive greater generosity.”
Professor Lockwood said the requirement for physical effort set the research apart from earlier studies. “While other studies may show mixed results, the design of our study requires people to make a physical effort to act in a prosocial way. We believe that this mirrors reality and highlights how people act in the real world when faced with the choice to act helpfully or not.”
The researchers argue that the results have wide social implications, particularly for how communities are structured. “The results have real-world implications across society. Helping behaviors are hardwired into the way we form and maintain communities, so understanding the different ways people respond to their environment when making decisions about whether to act generously is critical,” the study notes, adding that an abundance of high-quality choices may actually make people more selective about when they help.
Looking ahead, the research team plans to extend the work to groups where prosocial behaviour is often impaired. “The next step is to conduct further studies in different populations that experience challenges in helpful behaviors, such as adolescents with antisocial behavior and adult psychopathy,” Professor Lockwood said. “If we can change the environment and the different opportunities people encounter, maybe we can also change how willing people are to stop to help others.”
