Who Helps More—Low-Income Earners or the Wealthy? It Depends on the Situation
Are people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds more willing to help—or do the wealthy give more? For years, research has provided conflicting answers. A new study by Kühne Logistics University (KLU), based on data from approximately 680,000 people, resolves this contradiction: Both statements are true, but only in different situations. When it comes to direct contact with people in need, the wealthy’s lead shrinks. When helping costs money, they give more. The results have now been published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Ever since a widely acclaimed study was published in 2010, experts have been debating the relationship between social class and willingness to help. One side argues that people with less money and education are more generous because they rely on one another more in everyday life and feel a stronger sense of connection to others. The other side counters that helping others requires resources, and those who have more can give more. Empirical studies have sometimes found one result, sometimes the other, and often no correlation at all.
Both sides are right
The team led by PhD student and first author Johannes Stark (formerly at KLU, now at Hong Kong Polytechnic University) has now demonstrated in three complementary studies that the two perspectives do not contradict each other but rather complement one another. A reanalysis of a meta-analytic dataset comprising approximately 160 studies and around 680,000 respondents revealed that the overall slight plus in generosity shown by higher socioeconomic classes is significantly greater when helping involves a financial cost—such as when making donations. In contrast, this difference diminishes when helping requires direct personal contact, such as when someone needs specific support.
The researchers explained why this is the case using data from the long-term “Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)” study, which included more than 8,500 people in Germany: People from lower socioeconomic classes experience a greater dependence on others. As a result, they help one another. People from higher socioeconomic classes have greater financial resources—and can therefore donate more. This was confirmed by a so-called pre-registered experiment involving about 960 participants: Those who felt dependent on their fellow human beings or had more money at their disposal shared more generously. Both mechanisms are therefore at work.
“Both sides were right—just in different situations. People who rely on others in their daily lives are more likely to help when someone is right in front of them. People who have money to spare are more likely to give when help costs money,” says the supervising professor, Christian Tröster, an expert in leadership and organizational behavior.
Beware of sweeping generalizations
For the authors, the findings also carry a social message. “Broad generalizations about the generous poor or the stingy rich are misleading. Whether someone helps depends less on their bank balance than on whether the situation calls for empathy or money,” says co-author Niels Van Quaquebeke, also a professor of leadership and organizational behavior at KLU. Those who wish to encourage a willingness to help—whether in neighborhoods, companies, or when fundraising—should therefore shape the situation rather than focus on specific target groups. Engagement can be fostered more broadly when, in addition to financial support, time and personal commitment are encouraged—through personal encounters, volunteer work, and low-threshold opportunities for participation.
More information:
- Original publication: Stark, J., Tröster, C., & Van Quaquebeke, N. (2026). Integrating the sociocultural and economic effects of social class on prosocial behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 124, 104885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2026.104885 (Open Access)
- Prof. Dr. Niels Van Quaquebeke
- Prof. Christian Tröster, PhD
