What does poverty do to the mind?

The rate of deep poverty is alarmingly high even in affluent countries like the UK.

Poverty is associated with a suite of psychological variables: people living in poverty tend to be more depressed, more anxious, more stressed, more present-biased, and more risk-averse.

Why? Which way does the causality run? And what, if anything, can we do about it through public policy?

This timely inaugural lecture will summarize Professor Daniel Nettle’s research on the topic, much of which was conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Northumbria University.

About the Speaker

Professor Daniel Nettle is Professor in Community Wellbeing in the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing at Northumbria University. 

His research covers a number of topics relating to behaviour, cognition, society and health. His current projects are in the areas of:

• Economic and social inequality

• Trust, cooperation, and antisocial behaviour

• Adversity and ageing

• Hunger and food insecurity

• Moral and political cognition

Professor Nettle’s work spans the biological and social sciences. He is also interested more broadly in explanations in the behavioural sciences; interdisciplinary synthesis; and open science. Recently he has begun to explore how his work might apply to and support public policy.