Research School Network: The World is a tough place at the moment… Can you walk a mile in someone’s shoes

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The World is a tough place at the moment…

Can you walk a mile in someone’s shoes

by Aspirer Research School
on the

If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour
If we could find a way to get inside each other’s mind
If you could see you through my eyes instead of your ego
I believe you’d be surprised to see that you’d been blind
Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes
Yeah, before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes…


Joe South, 1970


The world is a tough place at the moment – the ongoing effects of lockdown on the emotional and psychological well-being of people is something that we need to consider carefully and plan for moving forward. But is it as tough for everyone? Do all of us have the same resources and capacities to draw upon when it gets hard?

Of course not – many reading this will be comfortable at home, with food in the kitchen and a day filled with online meetings. Others may be feeling the challenges of a reduced income and the worry of not knowing what might be coming around the corner. For those of us lucky enough to grow up in reasonably affluent and secure circumstances, the chances are that we have developed a set of effective coping styles when faced with stressful situations – it is hard, but will be OK. We have learnt these mechanisms from our families and our experiences – learning to plan for future events, see the bigger picture and have a sense of self-efficacy. We believe we have the agency to change our situations, to learn new skills and overcome the challenges we may be facing in the short term. We are effective decision- makers and understand the need to look towards future goals and aspirations.

Recent evidence suggests that this is not the same for all of us. The experience of growing up in poverty can affect a person’s ability to make effective decisions with long term goals in mind. People living in poverty have a tendency to make decisions focused on coping with present stressful circumstances; decisions restricted by a life with very few options and limited impact on future goals and aspirations. It becomes about next week, not next year. It is about now, not then.

So what might that mean for children growing up in poverty? Low socio-economic status is associated with poorer performance in tasks measuring academic performance (Sheehy-Skeffington and Rea, 2017) and in the measures of cognitive resources needed to do well in school. People low in socio-economic status may be more likely to choose smaller rewards now over bigger rewards later. This can lead to decisions that are damaging in the long term. There is a strong association between children who live in poverty and aggressive, less co-operative behaviour in school – linked to a lower general lower trust of others. Crucially, it appears that depending on others makes those living in poverty behave more positively to those who are socially close to them (friends and family), but more negatively towards strangers and institutions (Sheehy-Skeffington and Rea, 2017).

Ways of understanding the world are influenced by the environment a child lives in. Deciding how to interact with others requires a child to consider their place in the world, interpret and predict the behaviours or others, and make judgments about what is important right now. For that child, it might be more important right now to go out and see that friend, rather than understanding and committing to the bigger picture of staying isolated.

It is easy to judge the behaviour of others by your own standards. The challenges we are encountering in life during this current crisis places huge strain on our ability to cope. We all harness the resources we have. Taking the time to think a little further, recognising that we may not all possess the same coping strategies is an important consideration. Walk a mile in my shoes.

References


Sheehy-Skeffington, J. and Rea, J. (2017) HOW POVERTY AFFECTS PEOPLE’S DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES, Available at https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/…

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