Today’s moment in Duh!
Raise your hand if you’re surprised.
Study: Rich People Are More Inclined To Lie, Cheat, Steal
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a study published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that rich people are more likely to lie, cheat, and break the law without compunction, for their personal gain.The study’s abstract notes ”that upper-class individuals’ unethical tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed.”
“It’s not that the rich are innately bad,” the study’s lead author, PhD candidate Paul Piff tells Bloomberg News (presumably not to hurt their feelings), “But as you rise in the ranks—whether as a person or a nonhuman primate—you become more self-focused.”
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In observing 426 vehicles at a crosswalk, the researchers found that almost 50% of the “higher-status cars” didn’t yield to pedestrians, while all of the “lowest-status” vehicles allowed the pedestrian to cross. This is known as the Bob Novak effect.
Feeling entitled at all? Oy.
–TexBetsy
RE: crosswalks
I knew this years ago, working in Marin and cutting thru hi class neighborhoods on my commute from lower class Sonoma county digs.
Maybe lying, cheating, and stealing got them there (example Bush Crime Family). It’s all just another manifestation of “I’ve got mine, f&&k you.” So I don’t really feel all that bad about keying the shit out of a Lexus left running and unattended in a handicapped parking space.
“Behind every great fortune there is a crime.” — Usually attributed to Honore de Balzac
Aside from an innate sense of entitlement, most rich people seem to feel that they are too smart to get caught,* more confident about bluffing their way past any accusations if they do get caught,* and more able to pay the fine if they are caught and can’t bully their way out of it.
* This is where the Dunning–Kruger Effect plugs into what Paul Piff’s study suggests.