Being Blog

I happened to catch the above PBS piece, Exploring the Psychology of Wealth, ‘Pernicious’ Effects of Economic Inequality, on TV when I was visiting a friend in Oakland, CA in June, and have found myself thinking about it from time-to-time ever since. For instance, when I’m on the subway, I’m trying to pay attention to who is giving money to panhandlers and who is not to see if I notice a trend. Not knowing anything more then the outward appearance of a stranger on the subway, you can’t make any conclusions , but I’m observing this everyday occurrence in a completely different way and under a different lens than I might have before.

University of California, Berkeley‘s Paul Piff led a series of studies, which shows an apparent link between wealth and a person’s behavioral choices. The studies are of timely importance, since the economic inequality in the United States is as high as it’s been in almost a century. Some of his findings included:

• A study where participants were placed in front of a bowl of candy while they waited and told that “There’s candy there. It’s actually for children for another study, but you’re welcome to take a few pieces if you want to” found that wealthier participants took two times as much candy from children as did poor participants.
• Another experiment tested honesty in reporting dice scores when cash was on the line. What they found was that “people all the way at the top who made $150,000 dollars, $200,000 dollars a year were actually cheating four times as much as someone all the way at the bottom who made under $15,000 dollars a year just to win credits for a $50 dollars cash prize.
• In a rigged Monopoly game experiment, where one player is deemed the “rich participant” and given considerable advantages, so much so that it would be impossible for them to lose, the results showed that the rich participants still felt like they were entitled to win. They attributed their success to themselves, even though it’s a coin flip that got them on this side of the board as opposed to that.

All these studies lend incredible insight into what the mind does to make sense of advantage or disadvantage. Most importantly, that “those with money start to attribute success to your own individual skills and talents, becoming less attuned to all of the other things that contributed to you being in the position that you’re in.” Piff and his boss, Professor Dacher Keltnert, believe that these behavioral differences could conceivably help people understand their subconscious biases and perhaps even moderate the costly effects of economic inequality.

The results are in opposition to the American Dream which says that you should just be able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and be a success – no matter who you are or where you came from. One person in the online comment section of this piece even wrote, “In the US there is no such thing as ‘Economic Inequality.’ There is only how much money you make. If you want more make more.” It’s just that easy! Besides the fact that this person completely missed the overarching outcome of these studies, it is a perfect example of a popular attitude in this country that poor people choose to be poor or are lazy and don’t work hard. Never factoring in how the advantages given to them in life might have played a vital role in the amountof money in their bank account.

The relationship between money, entitlement, how we view success and our degree of generosity is a fascinating one that is worth paying attention to and examining. Taking time to reflect on how you got to where you are is something that everyone should do – it not only keeps your humility in check, but makes you a more compassionate and understanding person. The truth is, we can’t get to any place of “success” without some kind of help from others – so shouldn’t we all be willing to lend a helping hand to another human who is trying to find their own success? At what point does help become a “hand-out” and can someone be too generous?