Society Tends To Reject Generous People Calling Them ‘Nonconformists’, Study Says

According to a new study by Baylor University, generous people are generally rejected socially even though their generosity may benefit people in a big way.

Generally people live under the assumption that generous people are well-liked and accepted by society. However, a new study conducted by Baylor University researchers claims otherwise. Authors of the study find that such people are most often than not rejected socially even though their generosity may benefit people in a big way. In fact, they face the same rejection as stingy people and society regards them both as "nonconformists."

"This is puzzling behavior," said researcher Kyle Irwin, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences, in a press release. "Why would you punish the people who are doing the most -- especially when it benefits the group? It doesn't seem to make sense on the surface, but it shows the power of norms. It may be that group members think it's more important to conform than for the group to do well."

The study had 310 participants divided into groups. Each participant was given 100 points and had to decide how many points they wanted to contribute to the group and how many they wanted to keep for themselves. The total points that were collected by a group would later be doubled and divided equally among group members, irrespective of how much they contributed. Individual points collected would offer each participant the opportunity to win gift cards.

Each participant had to make this decision via a computer and was not allowed to consult with other group members. For the research, some of the group members were simulated, with pre-programmed behavior. Participants were informed that on the computer they would be able to view four other group members' contribution. They would be the fifth and one other group member would make the sixth and final contribution. This sixth member was pre-programmed to make either a largely generous contribution or a very stingy one.

While contributing points, participants had the option of punishing the most generous donator by deducting three points from the generous donor's kitty. However, for this, the "punisher" would also need to give up an extra point from his own kitty. Participants were also asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 9 which members they would want remaining in their group.

Researchers found that the "stingiest" member contributed only 10 percent of the total points collected while the most generous member contributed 90 percent. However, both members were subjected to equal rejection from other group members.

Authors of the study likened the findings to similar situations where a person who does the most work in a project, especially in school, is often made fun of and sometimes even eliminated from the group.

"There could be a number of reasons why the others punish a generous member," Irwin concluded. "It may be that the generous giver made them look or feel bad. Or they may feel jealous or like they're not doing enough."