Psychology 100

Abstract
Mittal, C., & Griskevicius, V. (2012, August 18). Sense of Control under Uncertainty Depends on People’s Childhood Environment
INTRODUCTION
According to new research, there are reports that growing up poor can “influence people’s sense of control and in turn may lead them to more impulsive decision-making and quickly giving up on challenging tasks in uncertain situations” (p.6). It is stated that two people with very different backgrounds tend to respond differently to uncertainty, even while having similar socioeconomic status (total measure of a person’s work experience). Therefore the purpose of this research is to determine if there are any correlation with growing up poor with impulsive decision making and giving up on challenging tasks.
METHOD
Participants Researchers choose to test the hypothesis in many different groups ranging from a sample size of 75 university students and 195 individuals for a total of 270 participants. The university student’s average age was 20 years old whereas the individual’s average age range was 33 years old. Out of the 270 participants, 53% were male and 47% female.
Procedure
Experiments was done by showing the participant photos depicting economic hardship, such as unemployment lines, home foreclosure signs and empty office buildings. To determine the participants’ sense of control, researchers asked how much they agreed with statements such as, “I can do just about anything that I really set my mind to,” or, “Whether or not I am able to get what I want is in my own hands”(p.8). The researchers went a different route with the university students by asking them to recall feeling uncertain about their finances and then asked to solve an unsolvable puzzle (p.9). To measure impulsivity, the researchers asked participants if they wanted to receive $28 to $58 tomorrow or wait 33 days and receive $62 to $87 (p.7).
RESULT
Results shown from the photo test showed that 75% from the poorer income groups disagreed with the statement whereas 90% from a richer background agreed (p.8). Results from the university students resulted in a similar outcome. Those who gave from a poorer background gave up trying to solve the puzzle 25% sooner than those from a richer background (p.10). For the impulsivity question participants from poorer background became more impulse to take the money tomorrow rather than waiting the 33 days.
DISCUSSION
It is hypothesis that people from poorer background tend to be more impulsive than those from a richer background although the individuals may have the same social economic status.