23 Dec Money does make you mean

While strolling my blog I found my earlier post money does tweak your mind today. I tend to agree and have myself experienced that money does make you mean at times (or most of the times). While reading stuff about the effect of money, I found this interesting research paper The Psychological Consequences of Money

In her research studies she gives people sentences to unscramble, some of which have money references, or she has them do tasks in a room where Monopoly money is on the table, or a picture of money is on a screen saver. Then she puts the participants into various situations, for example, someone walking through the room drops a box of pencils, or another (supposed) participant asks for help, or someone requests that the participant donate to a charity.

The findings are always the same. People who are “primed” with the idea of money ask for help less frequently, give help to others less often, donate less money, prefer to work or play alone, and put more physical space between themselves and others.

From NY Mag In another experiment, Stephens presented firefighters and MBA students with the following hypothetical situation: “You just bought a new car, and then you find that your friend has purchased the exact same car. How do you feel?” The firefighters were overwhelmingly pleased and said things like, “Fantastic. He gets a great car.” The MBA students were negative or ­ambivalent. “I would feel slightly irritated,” one said. “It spoils my differentiation,” said another.

Thanks to +New York Magazine and +Psychology Today 

Source:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201212/does-money-make-you-mean