The Psychological Consequences of Money
- 1 Department of Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, 3-150 321 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- 2 Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahasse, FL 32306–4301, USA.
- 3 Marketing Division, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada.
- ↵* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kvohs{at}csom.umn.edu
Abstract
Money has been said to change people's motivation (mainly for the better) and their behavior toward others (mainly for the worse). The results of nine experiments suggest that money brings about a self-sufficient orientation in which people prefer to be free of dependency and dependents. Reminders of money, relative to nonmoney reminders, led to reduced requests for help and reduced helpfulness toward others. Relative to participants primed with neutral concepts, participants primed with money preferred to play alone, work alone, and put more physical distance between themselves and a new acquaintance.
- Received for publication 14 July 2006.
- Accepted for publication 18 September 2006.
