Poor kids more generous than rich, experiment finds

Children from less wealthy parents donated the most, suggesting they were more altruistic than their better-off peers. File photo
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Even as four-year-olds, poor people are more generous than their richer counterparts, an altruism experiment suggests.

Psychologists also found that teaching pre-school children to help those in need made them healthier later in life.

Researchers from the University of California carried out an altruism experiment on 74 children aged four. The children played games that would earn them tokens, which they could swap for prizes at the end.

At the end of the session, the children were told they could donate their tokens to ill children who had been unable to take part in the experiment.

Children from less wealthy parents donated the most, suggesting they were more altruistic than their better-off peers.

Jonas Miller, the lead researcher, said: "It means we might be wired from a young age to derive a sense of safety from providing care for others."