Abstract: Poverty amid plenty is the world’s greatest challenge, so an important mission of psychologists is to understand poverty with corresponding mental models and decision-making, and to improve happiness and justice of human beings. The present article illuminated the role of psychology in understanding and addressing poverty, and introduced approaches of poverty psychology, including research design, measurement and other relevant factors. The authors also suggested that, special target groups, more reliable measurement and sociogenic and personalistic factors should be concerned in the future directions of poverty psychology, based on a summary of achievements and existing problems

Key words: poverty, psychology, attribution, personality, measurement