Money and Morals Essay

The be consequences of the clash between accessible and market norms be multitudinous and frequently inimical to our humanity. Fundament entirelyy, the sages of our pasts werent wrong when they said, bills is the root of each(prenominal) evil. Dan Ariely, an American professor of psychology and behavioral economics, claims that, When social and market norms collide, trouble sets in. (Ariely 68) This essay will oblige an look for at proving that claim naturally, it is not unusual that money is the chief topic of this essay. Ariely makes several claims, nevertheless doesnt adequately describe the unpropitious effects of money. funds rules the market world consequently, money and its contemporary adverse effects and affects will be analyzed in this essay. E reallyone knows money propagates deceit and betrayal. It changes social relationships to a darker feel from its original bright and happy color. It generally provokes a darker human one that cheats, lies, and destroys lives for the betterment of their future. It ravages our being, causing monetary values and materialistic items to define our purpose. Karl Marx once noted, Money then appears as the enemy of man and social bonds that pretend to self-substantiate. (Porto) Clearly, one can see how money degrades character however, the reasons are un promiscuous.Some say avarice and the desire to fulfill ones every wish are simply too overpowering a force to oppose, and specifically those things are the motif to acquire more money. However, only a select few can seriously curb the requisite spine to risk their personal lives and even companies to do that. Maybe greed isnt the only factor. A study conducted by Harvard and Utah Students that proposes a different answer. The study was published in Behavioral speak out Theory, a book by J.D Westaby, who is a professor in Columbia University with a PhD in social-organizational psychology. The students collected a myriad of undergraduate students and presen ted videos, images, and texts that made them think of money, such as dollar bills and expensive jewelry. Then, they showed them other things that had nothing to do with money. Some students were exposed to monetary-related pictures more than others. Then, acomprehensive questionnaire was filled by all the students. The undergraduates exposed to the images related to money exhibited questionable ethics. They consistently chose answers that were cut-throat, immoral, and selfish.Surprisingly, however, the students didnt see their choices as immoral at all. They, framed their choices as products of cost-benefit analysis. (Porto). The studys synopsis says, Students constantly exposed to money were more believably to steal numerous pages from a printer and create stands to sell products in a school without permission. (Westaby Study 1 60). The students reactions are symbolic of the unconstructive behavior money tend to propagate when gone out of control. Although their perusal of the im ages and texts related to money was rather short, the outcome was apparent. It demoralised positive social interaction and encouraged a grimmer human. When money rules our lives, and when we feel very wealthy, we tend to behave adversely. Think intimately it this way Pretend you are defending a game of Monopoly however, in this game, the combination of skill, luck, and intelligence has been rendered irrelevant. Why? The monopoly game is rigged, and you have the improvement. Youve been precondition several more opportunities to move around the board. You have most of the money. You have most of the cities and numerous hotels. Every time you land on a chance, or community chest, you find yourself with more resources.How might this raw advantage influence the way you thought of yourself and, more importantly, how you regard the other doer(s)? This experiment was, in fact, performed by psychologist Paul Piff. Piff is a social psychologist and post-doctoral scholar in the Psycholo gy Dept. of UCBerkley. He published an article titled, higher(prenominal) Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior. It proved through questionnaires, quizzes, in-lab manipulations, and several other techniques, that living risque in the socioeconomic ladder ontogenys the chances dramatically and exponentially of dehumanization. It drives affluent societies to immoralities, causing them to be more insular and acrimoniously unsympathetic. It can make them more likely, as Piff shows in one of his several experiments, to deliberately and knowingly take candy from a bowl of sweets designated specifically for children. Wealthy individuals, Paul Piff claims, Are way more likely to prioritize their own self-interests above the interests of other people. It makes them more likely to exhibit characteristics that we wouldstereotypically associate with, say, assholes. (McElwee)* Piff was able to gather 100 participants, and set up 50 monopoly boards. distributively monopoly game ha d two participants, and at the flip of a coin, it was decided who would be the generouser histrion in the rigged game of monopoly. The luckier participant had several advantages they got twice the salary, acquire four hundred (instead of two hundred) when they passed Go, and were allowed to role two die instead of one. Piff installed hidden cameras in the rooms the players were in, and reported several intriguing things.First of all, the richer player began to show off his dominance. He moved around the board louder. It was as if the piece he was controlling symbolized his footsteps loud, confident, and obstreperous. Moreover, they smirked disapprovingly at ever stupid, move the poorer player made. In contrast, they richer player made jubilant sounds that seemed to depress the poorer players every time they made a move. As the game progressed, so did increase of the rich players hubris. There was a bowl of pretzels on the side, and the rich players began to eat from the pretze ls, and gave dirty looks to the poorer players when they even approached the pretzels. One player even said something along the lines of, breakt eat my pretzels. The rich players started to get ruder and ruder, making comments like, Youre going to lose big time at this game, or Wow, youre so poor. Im still going to take all your money though. *chuckle*. One player even said, Are you sure you even know how to play this game? At the end of the game, Paul Piff interviewed the players. He reports that the richer players, when asked why the won the game, replied with a very intriguing, yet not surprising, answer. They attributed their inevitable victory to their skills They ignored the fact, or maybe even forgotten, that they were put into a often more privileged and advantaged situation. Even the means by which they were chosen to be rich was ruled by luck, not skill.This game of monopoly can symbolize society. It gives us much insight into how humans essentially view advantages and o pportunities they were apt(p). As a persons aim of wealth increases, their feelings of entitlement and self-interest increase with it. Conversely, their empathy, compassion, and consideration decrease. Paul Piff says, In surveys, wealthier individuals are more likely to moralize greed being good, and that the pursuit of self-interest is favourable and moral. (TedxMarin)* To further understand why affluent people exhibit less altruistic behavior,another study was lead by Daniel M. Stancato. Daniel M. Stancato, like Paul Piff, is a social psychologist and post-doctoral scholar in the Psychology Dept. of UCBerkley. He co- seeded, Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior. This study meticulously examined whether provoking an environment where greed is regarded positively increases the unethical tendencies of the less-privileged enough to meet their rich counterparts. In the experiment, when the benefits of greed were emphasized, Daniel hypothesized that blue-collar individu als would be as susceptible to unethical behavior as richer individuals. If these findings were true, it would attest a revelation, that is lower-class individuals tend to act more ethically is because they hold comparatively unfavorable sentiments towards greed.Conversely, rich white-collared individuals tend to act more adversely is because they hold relatively favorable sentiments towards greed. The study was, essentially, an economic game. Around 100 participants were gathered, and given laboratory ascribe. These credits, the participants were told, could be traded for real money. They were then presented with a questionnaire. The questionnaire prompted the participants to list the ways the participants viewed greed, and why. After about an hour, the participants were given the opportunity to give some of their laboratory credits to a needy stranger. The lower-class individuals (those who made $20,000 and less) gave a total of 45% more than the rich white-collared folk (those w ho made 150k+). Not surprisingly, the poorer individuals had negative sentiments towards greed, and the richer individuals felt more comfortable and accepted greed more easily. Later, the participants were given a different questionnaire that prompted them to list trinity negative outcomes of greed. They were then shown several videos of starving children. Then, they were again given the opportunity to give money to a needy stranger. The difference in lab credits given between the two groups was near negligible. This shows that, in an environment where greed is negatively promoted, one can give more. A while later, the same participants were given another questionnaire that prompted them to list three positive outcomes of greed.Afterwards, they were shown several clips of very rich people and the lives they lead. They showed them mansions, jewelry, expensive cars, and several other materialistic items that emphasized on money. They were then, again, given an opportunity to giveaway some of their lab credits. This time, however, very few people gave away anything, and those who gave, gave very little. This study shows that money can seriously make individuals less generous, compassionate, and altruistic. The first part of the experiment introduced an atmosphere where greed was looked at neutrally one was supposed to fill out their general attitude towards having a begrudge nature. When the individual was left to their own devices, their actions reflected upon their true nature consequently, the poorer folk, who fully understood the egregious consequences greed has on society, gave more. The richer folk, who practically lived in an environment where taking advantage of every possession is vital to success, were a lot less giving. However, a new environment was introduced. By prompting the participants to list three negative outcomes of greed, the participants were influenced. They were manipulated into adopting a new paradigm a paradigm where greed was bad. C onsequently, their actions were reflected that new way of thinking, and caused several people to give more. This is important because the previous mentality (for the rich individuals) existed whole because they were in an environment that promoted the hoarding of resources, like money, and that blocked feelings of empathy and generosity. Again, when money rules your life, including your social (life/norms), there is a distinct negative effect on the personality.Its intrusion is very dangerous, and it is essential to spare a balance, because if one immerses their entire lives in the market (life/norm), they will give up an extremely vital part of their humanity. It is important to keep in mind I am not bashing wealthy individuals. It is a fact that several of them secede from moral values more than I would like, but it is not because they have innate egregious qualities. Another study shown, by Dacher Keltner, who has the same credentials as Paul Piff and Daniel M. Stancato, sugges ts otherwise. Keltner showed rich and poor individuals a 45 second video calling out for support to starving African children. One hour later, Keltner had the individuals try to help other individuals in distress, and the wealthier people exerted full as much energy as the poorer, suggesting that these differences are not categorical, but are extremely malleable to slight changes. Little nudges of compassion and empathy are all one needs. Bill Gates once said, Humanitys greatest advances are not in its discoveries, but in how those discoveriesare applied to let down inequity. Bill Gates has given nearly all his money to the Bill Gates Foundation, which helps support starving children all over the world. I believe money can buy you happiness just not when its primary purpose is you. Self-commitment, community, family, friends investing in others is investing in yourself, and reducing inequities will doubtless increase social mobility, economic growth, trust, and community life.The rat race we involve ourselves in allows negativity to ferment, and only the morally transcendent individuals who have discovered a much more fulfilling calling the desire to address the needs and satiate the interests of others have realized that even if you win the rat race, youre only just a rat. Do you want to be a rat? If you still find my claim ambiguous, let me make it clearer. It is one of the most time-honored maxims in philosophy, clear even in Chaucers time. His Pardoners Tale is built on Radix Malorum est Cupiditas Money is the Root of All Evil. Now, as illustrated in my essay, social science supports that.* I realize you marked things on my paper like, I dont understand where this source comes in. Are you quoting Arielys article or not? No, I am not quoting his article I am quoting him. Aside from being a writer, Ariely is an extremely famous speaker. Those sources are where I got the quotes from. Specifically, McElwee is an author of an article on a blog, and TedxMari n is just a Ted Talk that took place in Marin. They are in my, Works Cited, page in more detail. If I did anything incorrectly, I am very sorry. That was how I learned to make citations through my entire highschool and college lifeWorks CitedPaul K. Piff, Daniel M. Stancato, Stphane Ct, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Dacher Keltner Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior New York Farrar. 2008. Print. Porto, Eduardo. How Money Affects Morality. Nytimes.com. New York Times, 13 Jun 2013. Web. 13 Feb 2014. Westaby, J.D. Behavioral reasoning theory Identifying new linkages underlying intentions and behavior. Ney York Harper Collins, 2008. Print. Cristina Becchio, , Joshua Skewes, et al, et al, Andreas Roepstorff, and Uta Frith. How the Brain Responds to the Destruction of Money. Journal ofNeuroscience, Psychology, and Economics. N.p.. Web. 14 Feb 2014. Piff, Pauf. Does money make you mean? Ted Talks. Marin County, California. Oct 2013. Lecture. Loeb, Paul Rogat . Soul Of A Citizen, Living With Conviction In Challenging Times. Los Angeles St. Martin, 2009. Print. Ariely, D. . Predictably irrational, the hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York HarperCollins, 2008. Print. McElwee, Sean