Does Money Make You Mean?
There is a very interesting article on Bankrate.com today about the effects of money on independence and helpfulness. There are a number of interesting points which I’ll discuss below, but if you’re just looking for a quick summary here’s what they say:
“A new behavioral study finds that folks with money on their minds are less helpful, less considerate and less willing to ask for assistance or engage with others than those who have not been preconditioned to money. On the bright side, the money-minded tend to be more independent and focused and they tend to work longer on a task before asking for help.”
They find that money (or the thought of money) doesn’t make you mean, but it might make you Clueless (just like in the movie…):
“We didn’t find any animosity; it was more of a sense of social cluelessness. They’re not mindful of other people. We don’t have any indication that they were being rude to these people. It was more ‘I can’t help you’ or ‘I don’t know how to help you.’ Granted, being helpful would be a nicer thing to do, but the intention wasn’t to be selfish or mean; they just didn’t see that they had a role in this person’s life.”
I think the most interesting aspect of the article is in terms of what implications the findings have–specifically the finding of money=independence.
The article brings up two implications. One, stating that if you want to get people to work in groups you should downplay the money factor. But, if you want people (like employees or children) to be independent and work hard on their own, you should stress money and use money to motivate them.
I haven’t thought about this in great detail, so I may come back to it; but what about the difference between men and women? Does gender impact this study? Also, in the broader scheme of things: if men or women (in aggregate) think about money more, then are they going to be more selfish/clueless/independent (as a group)?