研究：窮人更有同情心
<p align="center"><strong>研究：窮人更有同情心<br>Poor People May Be Quicker to Be Kind</strong> </p>
<p> Poor people are quicker than middle-class or rich individuals to
recognize the suffering of others and to show compassion, according to a
new study. </p>
<p> It included more than 300 young adults who were divided into groups
that took part in three experiments designed to assess their levels of
empathy and compassion.
</p><p><br></p><p> The findings challenge previous research that concluded
lower-class people are more likely to react with anxiety and hostility
when faced with adversity, said the researchers at the University of
California, Berkeley.
</p><p><br></p><p> "These latest results indicate that there's a culture of
compassion and cooperation among lower-class individuals that may be
born out of threats to their well-being," study author and social
psychologist Jennifer Stellar said in a university news release.
</p><p><br></p><p> "It's not that the upper classes are cold-hearted. They may
just not be as adept at recognizing the cues and signals of suffering
because they haven't had to deal with as many obstacles in their lives,"
she explained.
</p><p><br></p><p> The findings, published online Dec. 12 in the journal Emotion,
suggest a scientific basis for emotional differences between the rich
and poor that are depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as "A
Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities."
</p><p><br></p><p> The results also indicate that people from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds may do better in cooperative settings than those who are
wealthy.
</p><p> "Upper-class individuals appear to be more self-focused,
they've grown up with more freedom and autonomy," Stellar said. "They
may do better in an individualist, competitive environment."
</p><p><br></p><p> 一項新研究發現，窮人比中產階級或富人更易察覺到他人受的苦難，表現出同情心。
</p><p> 該研究涵蓋了300多名年輕人，他們被分成幾個小組，參加了三個試驗，目的是評估他們的同感能力和同情心。
</p><p><br></p><p> 加利福尼亞大學伯克利分校的研究人員稱，先前的研究得出結論說，下層社會的人在面臨逆境時更容易出現焦慮和敵意。以上的研究發現向先前的研究結果發出了挑戰。
</p><p> 該研究的作者、社會心理學家珍妮弗`斯黛拉在大學的一篇新聞通稿中說：“這些最新的研究結果顯示，下層社會的民眾中有同情和合作的文化，這可能是為應對自身幸福受到的威脅而產生的。”
</p><p><br></p><p> 她解釋說：“並不是上層社會的人冷酷無情。他們也許只是沒能那麼快地察覺到他人的苦難，因為他們在自己的生活中從不需要去應對這麼多的阻礙。”
</p><p> 這些研究結果12月12日發表在《情感》雜誌的網刊上，研究為查爾斯`狄更斯的經典小說《聖誕頌歌》和《雙城記》中描繪的富人和窮人間的情感差異提供了科學依據。
</p><p><br></p><p> 研究結果還表明，在需要合作的環境中，社會經濟背景較差的人可能會比富人表現得更好。
</p><p> 斯黛拉說：“上層社會的人看起來更專注于自身，他們成長過程中有更多自由和自主權，在個人主義的競爭性環境中他們可能會表現得更好。”
</p><p><br></p><p> <strong>Vocabulary:</strong>
</p><p> <strong>adept at:</strong> 善於
</p><p> <strong>autonomy:</strong> 自主權</p>