The psychology of Citizens Basic Income

Chapter 6 discusses the discipline of psychology, and then studies a briefing paper by psychologists that asks how a Citizen’s Basic Income might improve five evidence-based indicators of a healthy society: agency, security, connection, meaning, and trust. The chapter discusses research on the relationship between rewards and motivation, on the relationship between the poverty trap and motivation, and on other factors related to motivation, and finds that a Citizen’s Basic Income would be likely to improve employment motivation. A discussion of behavioural science comes to the same conclusion. A final section finds that current means-tested benefits can create substantial stress and therefore loss of cognitive capacity, and that only moving towards a benefits system based on a secure income will begin to alleviate this problem.