People give twice as much to beggar in a suit than dressed in jeans, study finds

Source: City University of New York (CUNY)

Smartly dressed people asking for money are likely to receive 2.5 times more than those casually dressed, a new study has found.

Academics from the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center conducted an experiment to see if socio-economic status indicators, such as clothing, were likely to have an effect on the compassion shown to them by others.

The experiment was conducted in six busy areas in New York City and Chicago, with a man standing in the street holding a paper cup and a cardboard sign with a message about homelessness.

In the high-status trials, the man was dressed in high-status symbols — a suit, dress shirt, a tie, and slick hair. In the low-status trials, he was dressed in low-status symbols — jeans and a t-shirt.

During the experiment researchers counted the number of passers-by, the number of people who donated their money, and the number of people who engaged with the confederate.

The results revealed that when the confederate was wearing a suit and tie, he received 2.55 times the amount of money he received when he wore jeans.

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