Poverty saps mental capacity to deal with complex tasks, say scientists

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Poverty saps mental capacity to deal with complex tasks, say scientists

Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian, Thursday 29 August 2013 19.00 BST

People who are poor expend so much mental energy on the immediate problems of paying bills or cutting costs that they are left with less capacity to deal with other complex but important tasks, including education, training or managing their time, suggests research published on Thursday.

The cognitive deficit of being preoccupied with money problems was equivalent to a loss of 13 IQ points, losing an entire night's sleep or being a chronic alcoholic, according to the study. The authors say this could explain why poorer people are more likely to make mistakes or bad decisions that exacerbate their financial difficulties.

Anandi Mani, a research fellow at the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy at the University of Warwick, who led the study, said the findings also suggest how small interventions or "nudges" at appropriate moments to help poor people access services and resources could help them break out of the poverty trap.

Writing in the journal Science, Mani said previous research has found that poor people use less preventive health care, do not stick to drug regimens, are tardier and less likely to keep appointments, are less productive workers, less attentive parents, and worse managers of their finances. "The question we therefore wanted to address is, is that a cause of poverty or a consequence of poverty?"

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/29/poverty-mental-capacity-complex-tasks

[Duer 157099]

1. No surprise there

and this is exactly what the PTB want

[Wounded Bear]

2. That about pegs the "Duh!" meter....

Been there, doing that.

[Hydra]

3. I can vouch for all of the above

Keeping focus is a full time job on top of your other 2-3 full time jobs.

Also, there are less and less services available, and none for people like me who "make too much" while taking care of a relative.

[noiretextatique]

4. consequence of poverty

of course. it is hard to function when you are worried about how to keep a roof over your head or where your next meal is coming from.

[LiberalEsto]

5. Also the severe depression that may accompany poverty.

People who are struggling to survive in poverty are very likely at risk of severe depression, and that can be almost incapacitating.

[progressoid]

8. Yup.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Most surely. n/t

[Marrah_G]

14. I live this every day

When you are struggling just to get by the stress is over whelming. Some days, when things go wrong, the stress piles on and leaves you unable to function. I honestly forget what it is like to live without financial stress. It's also why you see poor people dropping a few bucks on powerball. They can fantasize for a few minutes about what it would be like to not have to worry all day long. When you are poor there are no vacations.

[truedelphi]

6. I find it remarkable that it took so long to get such a study done.

Poverty is the name of the "Control Game."

Why are the rich exempt from taxes, while the poor pay more than their share? (In Calif. you pay over 8 percent every time you buy a non-food, non medical item. Meanwhile the Rich just do their shopping from their vacation home in Oregon, which is sales tax free. Or while on a cruise, etc.))

[Surya Gayatri]

7. Sad, but hardly surprising. Bad nutrition, bad health care, etc. etc.

This is a damning statistic:
"The cognitive deficit of being preoccupied with money problems was equivalent to a loss of 13 IQ points, losing an entire night's sleep or being a chronic alcoholic, according to the study."

[TalkingDog]

9. No shit sherlock. But hey, we poor people choose to make things harder for ourselves.

We like a challenge.

[theHandpuppet]

10. I wonder what kind of effect this might also have on impulse control

Seems to me there would be a connection there, also.

[Fumesucker]

11. Hence the old saying: I'm too broke to pay attention n/t

[caraher]

13. And yet we blame teachers for "failing schools"

Though the game there isn't so much to improve education as to turn schools into yet another profit center...