Why culture vultures are more generous

IF you enjoy going to the theatre or art galleries you’re more likely to be generous, say researchers.

A study of 30,500 adults has uncovered a clear link between enjoying culture and charitable donations.

Kent University researchers, whose work was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, studied questionnaires in which subjects described what they enjoyed doing and how much they gave to charity.

Professor Dominic Abrams, from the university’s School of Psychology, said ‘regardless of people’s age, education, employment and savings, their engagement with the arts remained a stronger predictor of their pro-sociality (wanting to help others) than did any other variables’. He believes being into the arts improves our sense of wellbeing, making us more inclined to want to help others.