Wealthy More Likely To Lie, Cheat: Researchers

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Maybe, as the novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald suggested, the rich really are different. They’re more likely to behave badly, according to seven experiments that weighed the ethics of hundreds of people.

The “upper class,” as defined by the study, were more likely to break the law while driving, take candy from children, lie in negotiation, cheat to increase their odds of winning a prize and endorse unethical behavior at work, researchers reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Taken together, the experiments suggest at least some wealthier people “perceive greed as positive and beneficial,” probably as a result of education, personal independence and the resources they have to deal with potentially negative consequences, the authors wrote.

While the tests measured only “minor infractions,” that factor made the results “even more surprising,” said Paul Piff, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a study author. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/wealthier-people-more-likely-than-poorer-to-lie-or-cheat-researchers-find.html

[seeviewonder]

1. A study was needed to tell us this?

I thought this was a sort of "given" bit of information.

[JDPriestly]

2. And yet, our courts and prisons are full of very poor people!

Something is off balance here.

[crunch60]

9. Because Corporations have taken over the Prison system, it pays to keep the poor locked up.

and many don't have money to pay fancy lawyers to get them out. Check out the stats in the link. It's growing bigger everyday. I think we need to OWS prison system.

PRIVATE PRISONS ARE BACK...

Outlawed at the beginning of the 20th Century, private corporations are once again owning and operating prisons for profit. A controversial issue which dates back to the days that followed the Emancipation Proclamation, CORRECTIONS examines its re-appearance today amidst globalization and the most awesome growth of prisons in all of modern history, painting a complex portrait of what many are calling the "prison industrial complex."

http://www.correctionsproject.com/corrections/pris_priv.htm

[varelse]

3. Maybe greed is... not so good?

The research indicates that valuing greed leads to unethical behavior, not necessarily that income class causes bad behavior, McGinley said, adding, “greediness seems like a much more substantial predictor than income.”

[baldguy]

4. How do you think they came to be wealthy?

[Alameda]

5. Exactly what I was thinking....

[Keystone Writer]

6. They may have a touch of sociopath in them.

You really have to have a complete disdain for other people to be able to do the things they do.

However, they're smart enough to know that their reputation is what allows them to get away with what they do. So expect them to play every card.

[napoleon_in_rags]

7. Read the comments at wired

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/income-and-ethics/

Newsflash: Scientific study shows rich likely to be deceptive. Rich respond with with deceptive arguments to discredit study!

[CatholicEdHead]

8. Yep,I see this on the road all the time

When I have to drive around 394 in the western Twin Cities. Any BMW, Mercedes, Range Rover, etc... always thinks they own the road and speeds all over.