Rich and Poor Share Unexpected Commonality

The rich and the poor have often been held up to be complete opposites of each other, but new research suggests that they may share more in common than previously thought. A team at the University of California, Berkeley set out to answer what many have pondered- are rich people really less ethical than their lower income counterparts?

The team conducted experiments using tasks such as go/no-go games and Prisoner's Dilemma designed to measure moral judgment and ethical decision-making. What they found was startling; the wealthy perform less ethically on many tasks than their poorer counterparts.

Rosalyn Everett, Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, commented on the implications of the study's results. “It seems that the rich may be overconfident, or feel a sense of entitlement, which may lead them to pursue their interests even if those interests come into conflict with their moral values.” In other words, the study suggests that the richer a person is, the more likely they are to act unethically or disregard their morals.

Easton Severn, another member of the research team, highlighted the importance of understanding how wealth can influence our behavior. "We find ourselves in an era of rising wealth inequality, so it’s important to recognize the way in which money can influence our moral decision-making," he said. Understanding the power of money can help us all make more ethical decisions in our own lives.

Wealth may also be affecting ethical behaviour in the corporate world, making unethical decisions appear 'normal' or socially acceptable. With unethical behaviour being commonplace in many industries, it can be difficult for individuals to stand up against unethical actions, particularly when they are in the minority. The team's research provides an interesting insight into the influence of wealth and ethical decision-making.

It's easy to assume that wealth is simply the result of ethical conduct - hard work, smart decisions, honest dealings - and that this could lead to some kind of karmic reward. The reality, however, appears to be far more complex, with the distribution of wealth playing a key role in ethical decision-making. As society becomes increasingly unequal and millionaires threaten to outnumber the middle class, this could have major repercussions for the ethical behaviour of both individuals and corporations.