The relative assholeyness of rich folks has been proven in not one, not two, but SEVEN recent experiments. Why there is such interest in proving this topic as the world struggles with economic lassitude and the rise of the 1% might be worth a scientific experiment of its own, but the fact is, we do want to know and social scientists have confirmed our suspicions.
The National Academy of Sciences grouped the studies under the collective heading, “Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior.” Among the key findings:
- “Upper-class drivers were the most likely to cut off other vehicles at the intersection, even when controlling for time of day, driver’s perceived sex and age, and amount of traffic.” Drivers of “high status” cars cut off other vehicles nearly 30% of the time; “low-status” cars cut off other vehicles 7.7% of the time.
- Drivers of “low status” vehicles failed to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk up to 30% of the time, while 46% of “high status” vehicle drivers failed to yield, an increase of more than 50%.
- In another experiment, each participant completed a profile that captured self-perception of his or her class status and then was offered to take some pieces of candy; the participant was informed that the candy jar contents would also be shared with children participating in another study. Participants who reported a higher social status took on average almost twice as much candy as those who reported a lower status.
- Subsequent experiments showed that “social class negatively predicted probability of telling the truth … and positively predicted favorable attitudes towards greed…. Upper-class individuals are prone to deception in part because they view greed in a more positive light.”
The studies blow a big hole in the idea that the poor, having less money and therefore presumably more motivation, are the ones who bend the rules, cheat, lie, help themselves to more than their share, or are just plain rude jerks.
No. It’s the rich, the “job-creators, the 1%. Or to put in in scientific-ese:
Seven studies using experimental and naturalistic methods reveal that upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals. In studies 1 and 2, upper-class individuals were more likely to break the law while driving, relative to lower-class individuals. In follow-up laboratory studies, upper-class individuals were more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies (study 3), take valued goods from others (study 4), lie in a negotiation (study 5), cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize (study 6), and endorse unethical behavior at work (study 7) than were lower-class individuals. Mediator and moderator data demonstrated that upper-class individuals’ unethical tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed.
