HR Strange But True

Could a Higher Income Make You a Worse Person?

According to UC Berkeley social psychologist Paul Piff, the wealthier you are the worse you may act.

On his website he writes:

“Some of my work in this area documents what might be described as an empathy gap between individuals from different social class groups. Specifically, I have been finding that increased wealth and status in society lead to increased self-focus and, in turn, decreased compassion, altruism, and ethical behavior.”

For example, one of his studies showed that, given the opportunity, wealthier participants took twice as much candy from children as poorer participants, reported Fast Company!

Another study found that wealthy participants cheated four times as often at dice games to win a $50 voucher.

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