The debate between whether having money or loving money negatively affects our character is very much alive… Paul Piff of the University of California…organized a “driver-pedestrian” experiment… “... Who is more likely to stop for pedestrians, the rich or the poor? Drivers are legally obliged to stop if someone wishes to cross. And, as a Lexus blithely slips through in front of him, Piff explains what his researchers found.
“‘None of the drivers of the least expensive cars broke the law, while close to 50% of our most expensive car drivers broke the law ... [wealth] ... makes you more attuned to your own interests, your own desires, your own welfare. ... It isolates you in certain ways from other people psychologically and materially. You prioritize your own needs and your own goals and become less attuned to those around you.”
…Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota… argues, whether rich or poor, people focused upon money are more selfish and less compassionate. On the other hand, people who do not focus on money, whether rich or poor, tend to be more generous and concerned for others.
Vohs shares …: “‘In all of our experiments, people who are reminded of money are really good at pursuing goals,’ said Vohs, ‘but they’re not that inter-personally kind or warm. They’re kind of standoffish, keeping in their own head, not interested in being friends with anyone.’
“‘So what you get are high-motivated people who are not very socially sensitive,’ she continued.” Vohs explains that such people are not anti-social, just not the most considerate of others…“
“‘We find that certain really wealthy people don’t think about money all that often,’ she said, ‘and sometimes middle-class people think about money a lot and poor people think about money a lot. So it’s more like how much money is on your mind rather than whether you yourself have a lot of it.’”