A University of Michigan team led by Catherine Thomas published research in PNAS showing that cultural and psychological factors affect poverty relief. The work focused on women living in rural Niger.
The researchers ran three linked studies. The first described how women understand agency and found an interdependent model common in the communities. The second study showed that relational factors, like social standing, worked together with personal factors such as self-efficacy to help women move out of poverty.
The third study compared two psychosocial interventions and a control condition. One intervention promoted individual ambition; the other was a culturally wise version grounded in interdependence and local values. Only the culturally wise intervention improved women’s economic advancement over one year. The authors warn that programs designed in WEIRD contexts may not work in other settings.
Difficult words
- agency — ability to make choices and act
- interdependence — state of depending on each other
- self-efficacy — belief in own ability to succeed
- psychosocial — relating to psychological and social factors
- intervention — a planned action to cause changeinterventions
- relational — connected to relationships between people
- control condition — group that receives no experimental treatment
- economic — relating to money, jobs, or the economy
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think poverty programs should be changed to match local culture? Why or why not?
- Can you describe a program or service that did not fit local values where you live? What happened?
- What local values or relationships would you include when designing a program to help people earn more money?
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