Bad Behavior Gets "Paid Forward" Even More Than Good

[MindMover]

The psychology of chains of greed
By Michael Norton



Every few weeks, another heart-warming tale of regular folks deciding to “pay it forward” makes the news. People have tracked the longest pay-it-forward chains at tollbooths at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco – where one person pays the toll for next person in line, that person pays for the next person, and so on. And just last month Starbucks encouraged their customers to treat their fellow customers to a coffee: “Pay it forward, and Starbucks will pay you back," stated CEO Howard Schultz. There’s good reason to think that these warm-fuzzy chains might be common; after all, giving to others leads to happiness.

But as anyone who’s ever waited in line – whether for coffee or to pay a toll – knows, other people don’t always treat us with generosity. Sometimes, they treat us with greed – cutting us off as we maneuver into the toll lane or cutting in front of us to order their caramel macchiato. What happens when we are the victims of cruelty instead of kindness? Unfortunately, our research shows that we are more likely to pay greed forward than generosity.

Imagine being in the following situation. I tell you that I gave someone $6 and told them they could give as much or as little of it to you as they wanted (and keep the rest for themselves). I hand you an envelope that contains the amount they gave you. You eagerly open the envelope, shaking it to reveal your bounty, only to find that this previous person left you nothing. Zero point zero zero dollars. Take a moment to think how you’d feel – and what words come to mind to describe the guy who stiffed you.

Now imagine I then gave you another $6, and asked you give as much as you wanted to a new person and keep the rest. It’s like being cut in line: having been cut, would you turn the other cheek or make sure to cut somebody else? Would you pay the greed forward?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bad-behavior-gets-paid-forward-more-than-good&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20131120

[DonCoquixote]

1. The problem is

We as a society reward good more than bad, especially Greed. It would be easy to simply say captialism makes things so, but frankly nice people finish last even in China. What it bild down to is, the bad behavior will happen until it stops beign rewarded.

[silverweb]

2. Then we have to double down, don't we?

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Start more pay-it-forward chains, share more smiles and hugs, give more small gifts and gestures of good will.

RWers, when caught in a lie or act of hypocrisy, just put on a blatant, in-your-face "so what?" front.

We can likewise double down -- with more random acts of kindness and paying it forward until we drown out the majority of greedsters and grinches.