Money=Mean?

You are on the Titanic and it is starting to sink.  There is one place left on a lifeboat.  What do you do? 

This is one of the many scenarios social psychologist Professor Paul Piff presented to people from various backgrounds in order to understand whether money makes you mean.  In the past, public perception has tended towards the notion that the very poor are more likely to break the rules because they are under financial pressure and face more difficult circumstances.  Yet, Piff’s work suggests the opposite—that having more money makes you care about others less and feel entitled to put your own interests first. 

After nearly a decade of research in this field, Piff has come to the conclusion, albeit controversial, that being wealthy can actually be bad for your moral fiber.  “It isolates you in certain ways from other people psychologically and materially.  You prioritize your own needs and your own goals and become less attuned to those around you.” 

In his psychology lab, Piff has run studies which suggest people with more money are more likely to cheat in a dice game, more likely to take sweets reserved for children and less willing to give up their time to help others.  “Rational economics would say the poorer person should keep more for themselves, the richer person should give more away.  We find the opposite.  The wealthier you are . . . the less generous you are.”

 See Lucy Hooker, Does Money Make You Mean? BBC News, March 15, 2015.