忘却からの帰還〜Intelligent Design

貧困状態にあると、発揮できる認知能力が低下することを示す実験がある。

The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. We hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypothesis. First, we experimentally induced thoughts about finances and found that this reduces cognitive performance among poor but not in well-off participants. Second, we examined the cognitive function of farmers over the planting cycle. We found that the same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance before harvest, when poor, as compared with after harvest, when rich. This cannot be explained by differences in time available, nutrition, or work effort. Nor can it be explained with stress: Although farmers do show more stress before harvest, that does not account for diminished cognitive performance. Instead, it appears that poverty itself reduces cognitive capacity. We suggest that this is because poverty-related concerns consume mental resources, leaving less for other tasks. These data provide a previously unexamined perspective and help explain a spectrum of behaviors among the poor. We discuss some implications for poverty policy.

[ Anandi Mani, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir, Jiaying Zhao:"Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function", Science 30 Aug 2013: Vol. 341, Issue 6149, pp. 976-980 ]

In a series of experiments, the researchers found that pressing financial concerns had an immediate impact on the ability of low-income individuals to perform on common cognitive and logic tests. On average, a person preoccupied with money problems exhibited a drop in cognitive function similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night's sleep.

一連の実験で、研究者たちは、金銭的懸念が差し迫ると、低収入な人々の、一般的認知及び論理テストを実行する能力に直接影響が及ぶことを発見した。平均的には、事前に金銭問題に心奪われると、IQで13、他の人々より認知機能が低下する。

[ [[Poor concentration: Poverty reduces brainpower needed for navigating other areas of life (2013/08/29) on Princeton>https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S37/75...]

これは、一時的な現象だが、成長過程で家庭が貧困である場合、恒久的な影響が出ることがある。たとえば、貧困は子供の教育機会を限定する。

Poverty limits opportunities for parents to teach their children.

Like any other kind of thinking, self-control can be taught. Children do better at self-control (and in school) when their parents teach them to solve problems independently and to participate in decisions. But that kind of involved parenting takes time, and financially poor parents are often “time poor” too. Family factors, such as nurturance and stimulation, that are limited by time poverty are directly linked to mental development. Furthermore, it makes sense that people living in poor, dangerous neighborhoods don’t give their children as much autonomy as people living in less dangerous neighborhoods. As a result, poor working parents are prevented from−not incapable−of teaching self-control to their children.

他の思考と同様に、自制心も教えることができる。親が子供に、問題を自分で解くことを教え、判断に参加することを教えれば、子供たちは、自制できるようになり、学校でもうまくやれるようになる。愛情を込めた養育や刺激など、貧しい生活に制約を受ける家族要因が、精神の発達に直接影響する。さらに、貧困で危険な近隣に住む人々は、安全な地域に住む人々ほどには、子供に自主性を与えられない。けっけとして、貧しく両親が働く家庭では、子供たちが自制心を学ぶことは困難である。

[ Elliot T Berkman Ph.D.:"5 Reasons Why Poverty Reduces Self-Control" (2015/09/05) on PsychologyToday ]

そして、貧困は、自分に何ができるかについてのビジョンが限定される。

Poverty restricts people’s vision of what is possible.

The Little Engine Who Could thought she could climb up the hill before she actually did. She had what psychologists call “self-efficacy,” the belief in her own abilities. An important source of self-efficacy is watching similar others accomplish goals. Poverty doesn’t occur in isolation, so children growing up in poor neighborhoods are short on models of people who escape poverty and long on models of people who do not. A child born in the bottom fifth of the income distribution has less than a one-in-ten chance of moving to the top fifth, and even the brightest poor children are still less likely to complete college than average wealthy children. Based on observing those around them, children in poverty have little reason to have high self-efficacy about self-control.

リトルエンジンは、実際に丘に登る前に、それができると考えていた。これは心理学者の言う「自己効力感」で、自分の能力への信条である。自己効力感の重要な源泉は、自分と似た誰かがゴールを達成するのを見ることである。貧困は単独では発生しないので、子供たちは貧困な近隣の中で育つ。そこでは、貧困から脱出する者は少なく、多くは貧困のままである。収入が下位1/5の家庭に生まれた子供が、上位1/5に移行する確率は1/10以下であり、賢くても貧しいい子供は、平均的な収入の家庭の子供よりも、大学を卒業する確率は小さい。自分の周囲の観察から、貧しい家庭の子供たちは、自制心について、高い自己効力感を持つ理由はほとんどない。

[ Elliot T Berkman Ph.D.:"5 Reasons Why Poverty Reduces Self-Control" (2015/09/05) on PsychologyToday ]

貧困家庭で育つことで、貧困から脱出する意思や能力が育たないという、ループが形成されているもよう。

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