Can beggars be choosers?
One day a few years ago I passed a street teeming with panhandlers, begging for change. And it made me wonder what causes people to stop for beggars and what causes them to walk on by. So I hung out for a while, engaging in a bit of discreet peoplewatching. Many people passed the beggars without giving anything, but there were a few who stopped. What was it that separated those who paused and gave money from those who didn’t? And what separated the more successful beggars from those who were less successful? Was it something specific about their situation, or their presentation? Was it the beggar’s strategy?
To look into this question, I called on Daniel Berger Jones, an acting student at Boston University who had just finished hiking around Europe. Not having shaved in months and already looking pretty scruffy, he was ready for the job (plus as part of his training to be an actor I figured it would be good for him to learn how to beg for money – at the time he did not see that particular benefit). So I found a street corner and placed him there to take on the panhandling trade. I asked Daniel to try a few different approaches to begging and to keep track of the approaches that made him more or less money. (Of course, after the experiment was over we donated all the money that he made to charity). The general setup was what we call a 2×2 design: When people walked by, Daniel would either be sitting down (the passive approach) or standing up (the active approach) and he would either look them in the eyes or not. So there were times when he was 1) sitting down and looking people in the eyes, 2) sitting down and not looking people in the eyes, 3) standing up and looking people in the eyes, or 4) standing up and not looking people in the eyes.
Daniel got to work, scrounging for money. He stayed on his corner for a while, trying the different approaches. And it turned out that both his position and his eye contact did, in fact, make a difference. He made more money when he was standing and when he looked people in the eyes. It seemed that the most lucrative strategy was to put in more effort, to get people to notice him, and to look them in the eyes so that they could not pretend to not see him.
Interestingly, while the eye contact approach was working in general, it was clear that some of the passersby had a counterstrategy: they were actively shifting their gaze in what seemed to be an attempt to pretend that he wasn’t there. They simply acted as if there was a dark hole in front of them rather than a person, and they were quite successful at averting their gaze.
At some point, something very interesting happened. There was another beggar on the street – a professional beggar – who approached young Daniel and said, “Look kid, you don’t know what you’re doing. Let me teach you.” And so he did. This beggar took our concept of effort and human contact to the next level, walking right up to people and offering his hand up for them to shake. With this dramatic gesture, people had a very hard time refusing him or pretending that they did not seen him. Apparently, the social forces of a handshake are simply too strong and too deeply engrained to resist – and many people gave in and shook his hand. Of course, once they shook his hand, they would also look him in the eyes; the beggar succeeded at breaking the social barrier and was able to get many people to give him money. Once he became a real flesh and blood person with eyes, a smile and needs, people gave in and opened their wallets. When the beggar left his new pupil, he felt so sorry for poor Daniel –and his panhandling ineptitude– that he actually gave him some money. Of course Daniel tried to refuse, but the beggar insisted.
I think there are two main lessons here. The first is to realize how much of our lives are structured by social norms. We do what we think is right, and if someone gives us a hand, there’s a good chance we will shake it, make eye contact, and act very differently than we would otherwise.
The second lesson is to confront the tendency to avert our eyes when we know that someone is in need. We realize that if we face the problem, we’ll feel compelled to do something about it, and so we avoid looking and thereby avoid the temptation to give in and help. We know that if we stop for a beggar on the street, we will have a very hard time refusing his plea for help, so we try hard to ignore the hardship in front of us: we want to see, hear, and speak no evil. And if we can pretend that it isn’t there, we can trick ourselves into believing –at least for that moment– that it doesn’t exist. The good news is that, while it is difficult to stop ignoring the sad things, if we actively chose to pay attention there is a good chance that we will take an action and help a person in need.
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves
Sometime it is not only the gaze, posture or social traits that matter but also an explicit written message/sign that can make a difference.
Imagine a blind beggar who has a sign saying “I am blind, please help me” versus a sign saying “What a beautiful day it is! Unfortunately I can’t see it”.
Which message will lead to better results?
now there’s a story that is for sure not translatable to other languages
here in russia a huge part of beggars are just mafia (no kidding). there are “pregnant” women (who are on their 8th month for a few years), people with fake papers about their sicknesses, stupidity victims acting as war vetrans, and many more. they pay their bosses a big part of what they earn and even so they get a “salary” well above average.
of course, there are musicians (awful and good ones) and other people, but all-in-all a beggar is more likely to be a greedy croock around here, rather than someone in real need.
personally, i never give money to “sick” people or othe whiners (the possibility that they are really in trouble is around zero). however i regularly give change to musicians (unless they terribly suck), after all, they are really working to some extend. but being an ass and exploiting people’s good feelings is no good (and that is what beggars do around here, they are just exploiting, not much reason to believe they are lost souls in need)
You sound like a real nice person.
My “local” beggar often holds a sign saying “I bet you can’t hit me with a quarter”. I wonder if he finds humor gets him more interaction–definitely tempting for me.
The real trick to this strategy is that if you did hit him he’d feign injury and sue you
You know it was some time ago that I addressed this issue with my own reactions to beggars. I considered that pretending the people didn’t exist might be more hurtful and disrespectful than just not giving money. My circumstances and beliefs are such that giving money is not an option. In the rare instance that I do have spare money for charity it’s given in a way that maximizes its usefulness. i.e. through a recognised and researched charity that addresses the structural problems. Yes I am an arsehole but there’s little I can do about that. Once I made the decision that I was going to acknowledge these approaches I needed to know what to say. Once I’d hit upon a simple “sorry mate” I found I had no further difficulty in making the acknowledgement. The more loquacious pan handler who wants to tell you a long story before mentioning money can be headed off by a simple. “I’m sorry but if it’s money you’re after, I can’t help you”
On the other hand I’ll often give money to buskers.
Matt, I’ve settled on precisely the same manners as you. I will always acknowledge beggars, usually with a smile, but never hand over money.
From your language I’d guess you’re a fellow Australian. We have relatively few beggars in this country, and fraudulent professional begging is basically unheard of. We’re lucky.
Like you, if I enjoy a busker’s performance I’ll happily pay a small gratuity. I also tip a little in restaurants if I genuinely appreciate the service, even though I’m a firm believer in there being no obligation to do so here.
Amazing insight! Looking at people could work wonders…
There’s a question unrelated to begging that this story brings up:
When experimenting with a new craft, what is the best method of getting professional assistance from an experienced craftsman? That is, what about Daniel made the experienced beggar want to mentor him?
I’d be curious to hear which method of begging Daniel was trying when the experienced beggar came up and offered his assistance. My guess would be the eye contact/standing because from the beggar’s perspective, ‘He might be doing it wrong, but at least he’s trying’.
Did he do this over 4 separate weekdays or weekend days? If not, time of day or day of the week could be confounding variables.
How true…
So what did young Daniel do with all the money he collected?
According to the piece, all of the money was donated to charity.
It said in the post he gave it to charity.
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The behavioral economics of panhandling is surely a good object of inquiry. However, all writing about this should be careful to discuss the broader contextual issues. While most panhandlers are less than healthy and secure, it is often an act. The whole issue is INTIMATELY TIED WITH THE ISSUES OF CHEATING / DISHONESTY.
There is a panhandler in my town who walks around with a crutch but does not need one. He has a definite ill-look and awkard gait. But he has an apartment and pays his rent. He makes as much money as my taxi-driver friend. He doesn’t directly lie by saying he is homeless or hungry. He says things like, “Can you spare some change? I’m saving up for a sandwich.”
On one occasion, another beggar asked me for money claiming he hadn’t eaten in days, and I happened to be carrying a half dozen bagels. I gave him a bagel. But, looking back down the street a few minutes later, I saw him take one small bite and then toss it into the trash (and miss, so it rolled into the street).
It is certainly true that most beggars are ill in some way, but they aren’t necessarily needing money. Perhaps the reason most people don’t give is because they have reason to believe the beggars are basically dishonest cheaters. And they avert their eyes because it will take time and energy to bother acknowledging the cheaters and they don’t know what to do.
A strategy my father decided: he bought a bulk bunch of 10-cent sealed toothbrushes and carries some around and gives them to beggars instead of money. As many are indeed ill and often don’t take care of their teeth, if they actually use the toothbrush, it will help them a lot.
Anyway, I definitely think the #1 factor to study in begging behavior and response is people’s suspicion about dishonesty / cheating… If people were convinced that the beggar legitimately needed money and their help would really make a difference, they would not hesitate.
Sounds like something similar to the wonderful Life of Brian sketch
It is very unfortunate that career beggars have made it hard for people that are truly in need while also ruining the trust of those that are charitable.
I rarely give money to beggars and often play along with their nonsense to uncover the truth.
As a people watcher myself I often find it amazing that people will hand over cash to rid themselves of the person in front of them. I notice that people that are financially stable and/or living outside of city limits are more prone to give. If for some rare reason I feel the need to give, it almost never comes without my interrogation. My friends say: “How is one to decipher who is truly in need and who isn’t?” Just LISTEN I tell them! With your eyes and ears.
I am not a callus person but no one likes to be lied to or cheated out of hard earned money.
Because I work with social service departments and people in need, I ask questions!
Like: “Why do you need money?” If they want “change” to buy FOOD/a sandwich I suggest: “Why not ask in front of the restaurant instead of begging parents outside of this toy store?” I offer to show them the nearest shelter (I know where they are located) that serves meals. If they are standing outside of the fast food restaurant saying they are hungry, I’ll ask them what they want to eat. If they are suddenly not hungry then I question why they really want money! My favorite beggar had to be a guy saying that he needed money because his car stalled. “What kind?” I asked. Meaning describe to me the make, model and location of your car and I’ll call you a tow truck. SUDDENLY, it wasn’t that serious of an issue. He couldn’t remember where he parked his cars, he couldn’t find the keys in his pocket, he couldn’t describe how and why it stalled because I was the only asshole that called him on his bullshit!
Yes, I admit that I am an asshole but this asshole has changed numerous tires for elderly people and women without question. This asshole knows the $1 menu at most fast food restaurants and surprisingly, I will spend money on those in need….. but I won’t just give it to you! Prove to me you’re serious and I will listen and help if I am able.
PS-Give homeless men a limit when you bring them inside of a restaurant and tell them to point at whatever they want. ahahahhaha
Your paternalism and fears over “wrongly” parting with a dollar or two show deeply into your soul as to what kind of person you are.
Jen,
You are pretty quick with the harsh criticism of someone who is helping. I don’t know what your experiences are, but I can apprecaite 11′s position. Though I dont quiz them (I tend to leave them alone if I feel theyve been dishonest with me), I do try to make judgments so I can share what I have with others in a rational way. I have limited means, and I have to ration my philanthropy (whether you believe it or not, even Bill Gates has to ration his philanthropy).
Think of it this way. If you have $100 in your pocket and you needit to provide your personal needs (food), and you come across a line of 100 people each asking for a donation, what do you do? You could 1) ignore or deny them, or 2) give all you have budgeted to give to the first person in line, or you could allocate what you have to give by 100 and share it with each. The last option is for you to 4) give each person $1, after which you would take up your place at the end of the line and begin begging as the 101st beggar.
The common theme in this is that there are two personal judgments as to how much you will share with others and how you will select the beneficiaries. The first seems to relate to what you consider is a minimum standard of living for you and for those you encounter. The second is a tricky decision about worthiness. I think this is the painful discussion point and the one that is not generally engaged. 11 has sincerely shared how he/she decides how to share his limited resources based on his attempt to discern real need. I applaud him for putting more effort into it than most people. I think it is kind of hurtful for you to throw stones at him/her. Your brief but harsh comments (I noticed another, similar reply to another comment) imply you feel people should give more. But you are slamming the very person that gives (food, money).
Is that what you were trying to accomplish?
An interesting experiment and I’d like to ask a question.
I wonder how much of that comes down to seeing the other person as a human being and how much comes down to feeling intimidated?
Or are they the same thing?
“. . . we try hard to ignore the hardship in front of us: we want to see, hear, and speak no evil. And if we can pretend that it isn’t there, we can trick ourselves into believing –at least for that moment– that it doesn’t exist. The good news is that, while it is difficult to stop ignoring the sad things, if we actively chose to pay attention there is a good chance that we will take an action. . .” Great commentary on life in general, and particularly during these changing, yet inspiring times!
This underscores something I’ve always felt about online versus in-person communication. Would we conduct ourselves in the same manner if we had to make eye contact as opposed to looking only at a photo, if we began our conversations with a handshake rather than comment on a blog?
I suspect conversations would, more often than not, be much more civil (relative to the typical online exchanges) if we had to meet the other participants in person before engaging them online, especially if we see them in-person on a fairly regular basis.
This also applies to online teaching which is done so much more now as an economic strategy- students really don’t engage as well as with face-to-face tutorials and lectures.
Speaking as a beggar, albeit one with a website – this being the 21st century after all
, there are many more factors to take into account, not least of which is the form of ‘attack’ that the beggar in question is using – the difference between passive and active bears no relation to whether the beggar is sitting, standing, lying down, whatever but the level of interaction that they use.
The more passive beggars tend to get less on average, notwithstanding the occasional ‘super drop’ and most is made with a performance of some kind – the better the performance, the more you make. The simple taking of a hand as an introduction to a pitch would be much more effective than merely launching into it.
As mentioned above, people’s suspicion of dishonesty is a major factor and it is there that eye contact really does help.
In general terms, the day of the week is a notably important factor – always better at weekends and Tuesday and Wednesday are always the worst. Mondays, surprisingly to many, are about as good as Fridays.
Another important factor is weather – it’s obviously much more difficult persuading someone that you deserve some of their money when they are uncomfortable by being cold or wet.
We, personally, ‘beg’ by making people smile, rather than hoping for their pity – see LazyBeggErs.com for details, photos etc. (note the E rather than A in the domain name and see our FAQ for an explanation
And as an aside to Salas’ question above, it was almost certainly pure pity at seeing someone obviously new and unpractised that persuaded the guy to mentor him.
I think the honesty is a very big thing. It was an interesting fact of poverty that a small amount of soft drugs(/alcohol if you insist on distinguishing) and a medium amount of food was more satisfying than a large amount of food. Your experiment in asking contributors how they want to help, and at the same time acknowledging that you’re more than happy to “waste” the money would seem to lead to more income for both food and “wastage” than when you and I went to more effort to earn our donations.
>if we actively chose to pay attention there is a good chance that we will take an action and help a person in need.
However, this misses the argument about helping Baby Jessica in the well, vs. all the starving and unnamed children in Africa… $1 to one person who looks me in the eye, vs. $30/month to the homeless shelter, or the soup kitchen, or AA, or Habitat?
I can’t see the difference between giving money to a beggar, vs. the homeless shelter, and buying a Starbucks vs an investment in a retirement account. In both cases, the short-term fix doesn’t do very much at all except make you feel better for the moment, but really exacerbates the longer-term problem.
The first thing I learned when working as a volunteer on a rescue squad was not to look into the victim’s eyes. It “personalizes” them, makes them human and gets you feeling sorry, sad, mad at the accident and emotionally distracted. Looking into a person’s eyes does a lot of things – and most of all it makes things after that intensely personal – particularly if they’re in crisis. Look between the eyes, look at the forehead, but don’t get caught in their gaze. It’s deadly, you’re told. You can’t do your job if you’re emotionally distraught. It’s nothing personal – and keep it that way. And most do, be they cops, nurses, emergency room personnel or firefighters. They know the dance.
As a writer I learned journalists do the same thing. Feature writers WANT to look into the eyes. They want to connect. Do you want to write great feature articles? Spend as much time learning to look honestly and fearlessly into people’s eyes as you do learning to craft a lead. Investigative reporters on the other hand – learn to study their notebooks, to look at their surroundings, to look between their subject’s eyes. They don’t want to see the human side unless it adds to the story. It’s hard to ruin someone’s life no matter how evil they’ve been, if you’ve connected with their eyes. The really good reporters can do that you know. They can look into the eyes, then back out again and do their job. They know the dance.
As a homeless person myself, I never begged for money, but I did learn to use my eyes and handshake in the same manner you describe. Cops and kidnap victims learn quickly that ANYTHING you can do, including eye contact, makes you a person and almost demands respect. Great lesson to learn and SO glad you did it! Consider too the power of the signs the homeless hold and WHY they work as well as a handshake! http://beckyblanton.com/2011/09/free-ebook-for-daring-adventurers/
BTW, I’ve read Becky’s free ebook and it’s awesome. It’s more like a collection of photos, some intentionally hysterical, of people begging for money, well worth checking out!
Stop and care? Pshaw. If we did that, we might solve poverty. Upset everything.
If you do any further observations, I’d be interested in some data on the demographics of the people who give money versus those who don’t. My office was across the sreet from a major corner with panhandlers and it was interesting to watch who gave and who didn’t. My unscientific, small sample observation, was the people who gave, looked a lot like the panhandlers. Those who didn’t give looked more upscale. However, they seemed to want to dispense a lot of free advice.
I would never shake hands with a beggar and I can’t imagine anyone shaking hands with one for obvious hygienic reasons.
People get a buzz out of giving or do it to escape the pain of guilt.
I never give money to beggars as it doesn’t solve their problem (if they’re genuine beggars). Genuine beggars are those that have mental problems or have lost all sense of orientation. Specialist organisations are their only hope that is of course if they want help.
So you help them find their way to these ‘specialist organisations’ or is just knowing that they exist somewhere out there enough for you to stop caring?
If “genuine beggars” have mental problems have they too the where with all to seek out “specialist organizations?”
Good point but there has to be a dividing line between helping and interfering.
It was books like Thomas Szasz’s The Myth of Mental Illness that gave governments the excuse to throw people with mental problems out on the streets. Also there was the objections by liberals and those on the left over Section orders which was understandable given that those powers were sometimes abused.
So how can specialist organisations such as Shelter persuade those in need to accept help if they are in a state where they feel that they don’t need help?
A very thin line indeed.
Here in India, beggars increase their chances of earning by simply adding an annoying feature to their persisting presence around people. They would follow you around if you are walking and keep getting in your way so that if it isn’t pity, it is riddance that will make you get some money out. It takes an immense amount of effort to deny help as well as lose them, to which one would prefer paying a nominal amount of money.
Giving a beggar money to save them from poverty is like giving a heroin addict heroin to save them from addiction. Beggars generally need to learn how to use money and how to be responsible. That’s why they’re begging for money. Giving them money before they can learn to use it properly is completely irresponsible, and it trains them to avoid the real help they need.
You don’t give your dog a treat for peeing on your floor. If you want people to change, you have to stop rewarding their behavior. Giving a beggar money in the hopes that they’ll eventually improve their life and stop begging is counterproductive.
You only give them money because you don’t know what else to do, and giving money is easy, and you want to feel good about yourself. In other words, it is a shallow, selfish gesture.
So, since it is irresponsible, counterproductive, and selfish to give money to a beggar, please go out this holiday season and give money to well vetted charities that actually help the homeless, and never give money to anybody that you don’t know.
Agreed. And what’s even more there are beggars (women with a child) that are run by gangs. Sometimes the child is someone else’s and is rented out to the beggar or the beggar’s minder.
I might add there are others on the street who don’t ask for money. They live on the streets because in a sense they have lost their way. There are organisations that offer help to these people but someone has to want to change before anything can be done.
So nice of you to associate beggars with dogs and then to denigrate people’s charitable choices. If only you were in charge of the world, everything would be set to order.
Our family has addressed this by carrying bags which contain portable, high protein foods, a pair of black socks, tooth cleaning gum, a small bottle of water (it is hot here in the summer!) and just handing them out when we see someone begging. Yes, we accept that the dishonest ones will not need it, but best scenario, they will pass it on to someone who does. In any case, we have not given money which might go for cigarettes or alcohol instead of food. Instead, we donate money to non-profits who help these folks in need by feeding and giving them shelter. It is a huge problem and I am not sure there is any one solution which will address all of the underlying issues.
How do we decide which ones to give to? Random chance that they are on the side of the street we are, and can receive it safely.
Can panhandlers be considered part of the unemployed?
Interesting as usual.
Have you considered the fact that the click after the eye contact does not necessary mean open the wallet? Some people could take the aproach of giving “timing” to that person in need. Stop by and have a chat with the person…… in that case the forced contact (hand shake) does not end on giving money.
The most interesting part is that the experienced beggar insisted on helping and gave some of his money.
I propose that people with less available cash to share are more often willing to give.
This should make an even more interesting study.
Why are lesser off people more willing to support and give to others?
Dan, would you want to pick this up and prove or disprove my hypothesis?
There’s no mystery to it Frank. Those who have less or nothing at all understand what it’s like and how difficult it can be. They can relate. They understand what it’s like to be virtually invisible.
It seems those who have never walked so much as one step in the shoes of the less fortunate are always the ones who act as if they know so much about them. They tend to paint the homeless and destitute with a broad brush as, in my opinion, several others in this thread have earlier.
I have just returned from 6 weeks in the States and I was astonished at the number of beggars compared to my homeland (Australia). I guess a reflection of your economic state.
Some observations:
New York City – very few.
New Orleans – mostly buskers who certainly earned their income.
Boston -(especially near Harvard)- lots of young white males, many adopting the face down supplicant style.
Montreal – surprisingly large number, again mostly white males, seemed about equal English and French speaking.
Chicago – nearly all black males, lots of people with apparent mental illness and some claiming to be injured vets (often wearing fatigues), a few white men and women, mostly closer to the art institute.
In general very few Hispanic beggars in the above cities.
Pretty universally polite and non-threatening, I was impressed by some older black guys in Chicago who would come out with cheap plastic ponchos for sale when the rain came down!
Do beggars have territories? Are you hassled if you ‘move in’ on someone’s patch?
Are their organised Mafia-run beggar rings like there are in Europe?
Courage and compassion, the most baffling and amazing of human qualities. I’ve just started to understand courage. Maybe in another twenty years I’ll have some real insight into it. All I know is you never know who has it and who doesn’t have it, and, for me at least, it can change by the day. Go figure.
Salas, I know that as Appeal to Honor from How to Make Friends and Influence People. Appeal to Honor assumes that a person wants to show you that he is a good worker. He is hardworking, knowledgeable, and wants to help. By being likeable and needing help, you create an opportunity for this to happen. To practice, ask a salesperson a question that lets him ‘shine,” or gives him a chance to show you what he knows. The salesperson might then give you a discount of some sort without you even asking. The apex of this strategy is when someone gives you something for free simply because you are nice. It doesn’t always work, of course.
Professor Reuven Kimelman tells the story of being Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s assistant in the early 1970s and walking with him from the Jewish Theological Seminary to his apartment in NYC one night when they came upon a beggar. Professor Kimelman was inclined to hurry them along to avoid the uncomfortable situation entirely. But Rabbi Heschel stopped, reached into his pocket for some money, and asked the beggar how his day was going that particular day. Kimelman was particularly impressed that Heschel did the opposite of what Professor Ariely defines as the usual reaction. Not only did he make eye contact, he also engaged him in discussion. Heschel’s decision to give money to the beggar had nothing to do with the baggar’s strategy. Rather, it had only to do with Heschel’s life stance on justice with respect to the poor. In this vignette, making eye contact and ultimately talking with the beggar can actually exceed the act of giving him money. I wonder which thing made the beggar feel better — getting the coin from Heschel or his words of friendly engagement. Professor Ariely considers only the feelings of the passerby in his story above about optimal beggar strategies; Rabbi Heschel adds importantly to the discussion by also considering the feelings of the beggar as part of the larger social norm.
In sales, it’s called the “handshake close”. Typically the car salesman comes back from talking to his manager, and says “he gave us almost everything we asked for” and, with a smile, puts his hand out to shake.
The last car I bought, the salesman tried it and I told him most people must be a little uncomfortable not shaking hands with a nice guy like you, but I’m not buying at that price.
He scurries back to his manager. After a few minutes, out comes the manager with a fifty dollar bill. He comes up, tells me he shouldn’t, but the fifty is out of his pocket… just to close the deal.
If you think not shaking hands is hard, try being offered money.
And yes, I took the fifty and wrote a check for sixteen thousand.
I always look beggars in the eye. I warmly grasp their hand. And then I tell them to go and get a job.
Wow, that’s such an original approach. So believable too. Your attitude to charity certainly shows what a mensch you are.
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Agreed that We have relatively few beggars in this country, and fraudulent professional begging is basically unheard of. We’re lucky.
I will always acknowledge beggars, usually with a smile, then i give them some money because i feel sorry for them. I believe that no one wanted to be a beggar if they have a chances. Most of them are really nice people they should deserve more. SO I encourge people to give. Being able to give is a happy thing that mean you are very fortunate so that we should help the less fortunated people.
Wow! Really interesting article. Thanks so much.
Long ago in Berkeley, I was under the impression that one particular beggar received substantially more money than others by standing quietly with his hands cupped. He wouldn’t say anything, but people seemed (to my unscientific eye) to give him money more often than to others.
My guess is that people were somewhat grateful that he wouldn’t harass them, and he seemed like he sincerely needed the money. I watched for a while trying to calculate how much he made an hour — I don’t recall the amount exactly, but seeing a few dollars in a short period of time, I decided it was well above minimum wage.
I also recall seeing him at a later date taking money out of an ATM. Which itself doesn’t say much, but it did strike me as somewhat unexpected given his vocation.
If he was taking money out of an ATM – that says a lot! It says that he’s a professional beggar and no one should give him money.
Beggars aren’t allowed to have bank accounts – they should keep the little money that they have on them so as to make it available for robbers and thieves? You have so much wisdom flowing from your comfortable life.
This account is remarkably similar to a story in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest — of a man who tries to restore his brother’s faith in humanity by panhandling outside Boston’s Park Street Station and getting someone to touch him. He gets plenty of money, but no one will touch him except for saintly Mario Incandenza.
Is the offer of a handshake a common panhandling strategy? In all my city experiences, I’ve never seen it happen.
The best sign I ever saw simply said “she had a better lawyer…”
I gave him $10.
Ha ha ha ha. You should have done better than that! You should have immediately offered him a job as a marketer in your organisation!
And when you pass too many beggers you stop seeing them or wanting to giving them anything. Same as with begging letters.
It is more important to greet the transparent doormen with a smile going in or out of buildings.
Not all of us feel as alienated and distant from humanity as you, thankfully.
hmmmm, maybe I am the first from Germany here,
but I never ever give on principle.
Everybody in need is taken care of by the government,
and there they also find housing, health.
There are a female and a male (they belong together) about 20 year olds running around, since at least a few years, in the northern part of the center of a 500k city, who are not allowed in in most places “Hausverbot” often with photo. They are primarily feeding on the tourists.
Otherwise it is just “legitimate” musicians and “still-actors”. It is more difficult to keep Greenpeace and the likes at bay.
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Interesting! I want to “beg” Dan Ariely to put his awesome brain power to use helpint to create a world with no “beggars”. I wonder what my best strategy would be…hmmm
Last week, in Denver, I passed by a “traffic light” beggar -in his early thirties- who was talking on his I-Pod. A few years ago, in Mumbai, I passed by a street beggar -in his teens- with no legs, sitting on his hand-made skateboard, holding a brick on each hand (so the hands will not be injured as he he would move himself on that skateboard with the help of his arms). I guess, each society has its own beggars; or “allows” a certain kind of beggar according to affluence.
“who was talking on his I-Pod” – a sure sign of mental illness.
Since it’s the holiday season, I’ve noticed that my way of dealing with the Salvation Army bell ringers is very similar to how I avoid beggars. To avoid feeling guilty for not giving them money, I have to avert my gaze. And some of them seem to attempt the same tactics as the successful beggars, such as trying to engage me in conversation. And the constant bell ringing makes them hard to ignore.
Just yesterday I saw two beggars, pretty well dressed listening to a loudspeaker driver connected to a MP3 player. That was interesting, I wondered if they had a computer too, from which they transferred the music.
We should channel our energy towards education, so that everyone on this planet will have a chance to get a minimum of education.
I think the future looks bright, because with the age of technology, it is possible to learn from a computer and there are some organizations out there today providing education through the electronic medium.
With the price of computers going down, shelters will be able to afford a few second hand computers, from which the people can learn.
Many shelters do not offer supportive services – not even computers – just a bed in an often unsafe environment (why many people choose to sleep on the street) and that’s it.
Dan, you are an economist, right? You have not totally abandoned the insights of other branches of economics? People do not give money to beggars because (i) there is an insurmountable informational asymmetry – who is to establish that these people are really in need? (ii) the marginal benefit of donating in this way is significantly less than that of donating through organized channels (i.a. for the above reason) and (iii) donating generates moral hazard. Knowing that despite these rational orientations, they may still suffer moral discomfort, it is welfare-enhancing for passers-by to avert their gaze. Your “second lesson” is riddled with fallacy.
Yes, they can choose what is right for them. They are to lazy to get better.
One day before going into the city I decided to put money in my pocket specifically for any random beggar who asked for it. I don’t like to stop and fish around in my purse-that prevents me from giving. I was walking down a sidewalk when a seated beggar asked for money- no eye contact. I kept walking then remembered the money in my pocket. I looked back and said, “I DO have money for you!” His face lit up at my enthusiasm. His face was the beauty part.
Jangali obviously you are not a scientist though you try to sound like one when you respond. If you were a scientist you would see that -This wasn’t a real scientific study though was it? No real conclusions can be inferred because of it’s small size and it’s lack of variables regionality, etc.
This is a “vanity study” right? Rather than delve into any real solution driven research Dan just uses his powerful status and resources to do little worthless studies for his own amusement and to give him something to talk about at cocktail parties with other professors all doing their own trivial research projects and promoting the status quo all immune in their academic bubbles and self-congratulatory conferences, to the real problems here on planet Earth. He has had a hard life let him indulge himself but lets face facts, this experiment and these recent “surveys” are not going to advance any vital sciences. For other trivial educators doing absolutely nothing helpful or productive see the recent Ted talks, boy have they gone downhill- they all used to be so interesting weep weep
I don’t disagree, except I do not see the evidential basis for your conclusion that I am “not a scientist”
If you want to study begging strategies, London, UK, is a good place to go.
I noticed many beggars there sit outside the doors of McDonalds or other fast food outlets (mainly the international chains, not the mom-and-pop shops), or on the ground directly under ATM machines. Very hard to pretend you have no cash when you’ve just withdrawn 50 pounds.
The other strategy I noted there was asking for bus, train or tube fare. I usually walked around the city to save money and often, late at night, I would get people come up to me and ask for just enough money for the bus or tube home. I discovered many of them were not genuine when I offered to walk with them for company, rather than give them money.
A beggar I saw once in Boston had a unique and, I suspect, very successful strategy. He stood at the entrance to a station, dressed smartly in a suit with a briefcase. He asked for $5 for a train ticket to get home as his wallet had been stolen. Very believable, except that I passed the same station a couple of days later and he was still there, with the same story.
The most successful beggar I’ve heard of was an Italian man in Auckland, New Zealand, who washed car windshields at traffic lights. Very good looking, he wore a sleeveless denim shirt, open to the waist, and short, tight, denim shorts. He made a point of only washing the windows of cars with female drivers. He was so successful there was a story about him in the newspaper. On a good day he could make NZ$300 per hour.
When I lived in Chicago for a while I went out with a group late at night and we met a homeless male prostitute. It was a shocking experience because we were the same age (about 22), same name, and he seemed perfectly normal mentally and phyically. We spent some time talking to him and bought him a meal, but he got “picked up” before he had finished. I often think back to that experience and wish I would have asked him to come with me. He may have declined, but there is a chance he would have accepted and had a fresh start out of that situation.
What a great study. It makes you wonder (like some other commenters have suggested) about testing other variables in the begging scenario: message, location, appearance of the beggar, etc. But it is important to notice our initial reaction is to turn away. It shouldn’t be and that’s a great message… one that’s on a lot of peoples’ minds this time of year no doubt.
‘Mark Snyder and his co-workers (1974) found that hitchhikers doubled the number of ride offers by looking drivers straight in the eye. A personal approach, as my panhandler knew, makes one feel less anonymous, more responsible.’ (Source: Social Psychology, Myers. p.503 Social Relations) [http://hitchwiki.org/en/Top_Tips]
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On one hand, I understand your intention of giving food. At the same time, Begging is also one of the means of Livelihood. If they are asking for money in particular, why do we give them food? Who are we to decide for them? Because we think all that they need to Live is Food, though it is one of the Basic necessities.
I am sure there are many others needs other than Food.
Begging can not be understood in isolation in a Globalized world. It is also about displacement of people who fall on streets without much of an option. Its complex.
I also see, Begging as equal to Performing. We are convinced about their Performance of Poverty, Need, Sympathy – we offer them something.