The new poor

The brains of rich people are less stimulated by small bonuses compared to the poor, a new study finds. This study provided evidence to support a fundamental economic principle also known as "marginal practicality" - that with the same amount of money, its value would be overlooked when people get richer. .

Philippe Tobler at Cambridge University in England and colleagues recruited 14 students with different incomes (from parents or overtime) and deposited money in banks.

Students will observe abstract pictures (including circles and rectangles) on a computer. Meanwhile, the team photographed their brains with magnetic resonance techniques. 3 of the photos always precede a clear picture of a 20 penny coin (worth about US $ 0.4), while the other three photos are associated with a similar but faded coin.

(Photo: Istockphoto) When participants correctly predicted that a clear coin picture would go after the photo that appeared on the computer screen, and indicate their prediction by pressing a button, they would receive Get 20 penny rewards in your account. 20 penny is not enough to buy a pack of gum in the UK. Each student made 210 guesses like that.

The results of brain imaging show that poor students have brain activity in the striatum - "reward center" - more positively than rich students, whenever they know that the photo will give rewards.

Rich students also take longer to make correct judgments with rewards.

Tobler wanted to test the brains of wealthy students reacting to larger amounts of money, but his research team did not have enough funds to do this.

Tobler believes that the results provide evidence in contrast to the economic theory of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, whereby the rich are quickly familiar with their properties, they no longer feel rich and catch First respect the next earnings like the poorer.

Instead, Tobler's brain scan results supported a more classical economic hypothesis, that the subjective value of bonuses decreased as their assets increased. "A dollar will be considered a millionaire by a millionaire less than a person with only $ 100 in a bank," he wrote.

T. An