The .Plan

The ‘psychological consequences of money‘ study made it into the New York Times:

The researchers say this effect of money is plainly evident in everyday life. People with resources do not recruit friends to help run a party. They hire a caterer. Students with money do not give a moving party with pizza. They hire a mover.

“We know there is a civilizing side to money, that people acting in a self-interested fashion depend on fellow humans in a community and tend to treat them fairly,” said George Loewenstein, a professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “But this study shows its pernicious side, how the pursuit of money can be isolating.

“This study really came out of the blue. I don’t know of any precedent for this work.”

In the study, people’s personal attributes made little difference. This effect of money on behavior was as strong in women as in men, and it did not change with the students’ backgrounds. Daughters of high-end bankers behaved just like sons of plumbers.

“And none of them realized the studies were about money,” Dr. Vohs said. “It was all unconscious.”