[Highlight#009]On the psychology of poverty_Chelsea

Poverty by Matteo Angelino by creative commmons from Flickr

Excerpt from

Science 23 May 2014:
Vol. 344 no. 6186 pp. 862-867
DOI: 10.1126/science.1232491

Poverty remains one of the most pressing problems facing the world; the mechanisms through which poverty arises and perpetuates itself, however, are not well understood. Here, we examine the evidence for the hypothesis that poverty may have particular psychological consequences that can lead to economic behaviors that make it difficult to escape poverty. The evidence indicates that poverty causes stress and negative affective states which in turn may lead to short-sighted and risk-averse decision-making, possibly by limiting attention and favoring habitual behaviors at the expense of goal-directed ones. Together, these relationships may constitute a feedback loop that contributes to the perpetuation of poverty. We conclude by pointing toward specific gaps in our knowledge and outlining poverty alleviation programs that this mechanism suggests.

[Highlight#007]Peer Pressure_Chelsea

Peer Pressure by Hannah Nino by creative commmons from Flickr

Peer Pressure Can Be a Lifesaver

By HELEN COSTER

 MAY 14, 2014, 11:00 AM

Fixes looks at solutions to social problems and why they work.

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When we hear that someone succumbed to peer pressure or conformed to group expectations, we are inclined to think about it in negative terms. We imagine a young person smoking his first cigarette or an adult parroting the consensus of her community. We know that these social forces can cause people to act in ways that are harmful to themselves and others; but every day we are discovering more ways that they can be harnessed to solve problems in health, education and other areas. This is crucial. For decades, development organizations have spent billions of dollars developing medicines, installing wells, or building clinics or schools that people have not fully used, if they have used them at all.