Interpersonal Trappings of Money
I read a really intriguing study that was done on human behavior when it comes to money, or more specifically to having and not having money or images of money in their head. A study was undertaken by a woman who noticed that she started to behave differently toward her friends and family on an interpersonal relationship level when she received a significant boost to her salary.
The study involved people being paid a small sum to take a little test, and little did they know that they were either exposed or not exposed to images of money, and this was the primary goal of the research, to see how the people who were exposed to monetary images and the people who were not, behaved differently after their “test”.
The findings undoubtedly point to the fact that money does change the way we view things. For example, we are less likely to ask friends for help to do things that we normally would have before money entered the picture. Also, money tends to make people less charitable in many cases, if you can believe that.
People who come into money or achieve significant increases in salary usually start to think that everyone should “help themselves” and become less helpful to peers. Not so attractive, is it? The important thing is, is to remember that we all are human, and it is always important to help your fellow man or woman, whether it has to do with expendable income or just help with anything.
