Money over Compassion: Does Greater Affluence Lead to Less Affection?

The wealthy simply cannot get a rest from criticism.

Not only do they get slagged for monopolizing the wealth in most countries of the world, not to mention their affluent lifestyles and reckless spending on created needs, but they now have to live with the stigma that they are indeed less compassionate than their less-fortunate brothers and sisters, thanks to the study conducted by Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner.

Consider these revealing discoveries from the aforementioned study:

So What Does This Mean?

Given the data, there must be a correlation between the accumulation of wealth leading to the erosion of compassion, morals, and empathy.

From an unscientific point of view judging from the video study conducted by NECN.com, denizens interviewed in the streets of California attributed rich people’s lack of affection to how disconnected they are from reality.

There is a certain truth to this claim, as people with more than enough wealth have the choice to make their lives easier. Instead of taking a cab or bus going home, people with wealth have their own cars or chauffeurs to do that for them. For every American family in the Projects suffering to make ends meet in this struggling economy, there is another family at the other end of the social spectrum fuming as to why the French restaurant they are dining at the moment does not have caviar on their menu.

Although these examples may be exaggerations to what is happening in real life, it is not difficult to believe that money exposes people to the comforts of life as opposed to the damning truths about death and despair. Their wealth allows them to create a social bubble that protects them from the poverty that plagues reality, something that they fail to see in their everyday lives.

People with less than enough are aware of the realities taking place around them. Although they may not share the high-brow taste for clothing, food, fashion, and the arts, they are better equipped to deal with life outside the bubble — emotionally and spiritually.

There is ‘I’ in ‘important’

One thing you cannot take away from wealthy people is their independence, which could explain how their actions and motives are driven towards their self-interests. Money disengages the rich from people because unlike those with very little, they have to depend on other people to satiate some of their needs. Therefore, wealthy people are more inclined to look out for their own welfare instead on worrying about what other people feel or think.

In itself, independence is not a bad thing. Being able to stand up on one’s own is a sign of responsibility and maturity. However, in the context of riches, independence becomes the mitigating factor that explains the insensitive actions of the wealthy in reality, as the tests would conclude.

Therefore, self-worth is a loathsome term in relation to the rich — they are so full of it.

Not to oversimplify a rather complex study of social behavior in relation to their respective classes, but to cite history as an example, most of the high-profile scandals in business and finance were orchestrated by wealthy people. Take Bernie Madoff and Arthur Andersen for instance. They were highly successful businessmen who played integral roles in the Ponzi scheme and Enron, respectively. Both made fortunes out of their (mis)adventures, but were soon caught for their fraudulent practices that cost their investors and partners billions of dollars combined.

My Two Cents

Although we cannot change how certain classes function in a certain way, we can change our attitudes toward the effects that money can have on people. All you need to do is manage your wealth properly to keep in touch with reality.

Below are some key takeaways from the studies:

  • Enough is just about right. If you can’t be rich and empathize with other people, then you can try striking a balance between the two. Having just the right amount of money allows you to focus more on your needs and less on your wants. This also keeps you grounded and humble as a human being living with others.
  • It is not always about the ‘I.’ In the grand scheme of things, there is always something or someone bigger than yourself. Exclusively focusing on your concerns and welfare prevents you from being aware of the things around you. As a result, you become too absorbed with what you want to have that you lose track of things that you already have in the first place — your family and friends. Although social relationships do not have any monetary value, these are human concepts that money cannot ultimately buy. Unlike money, the more you rely and build on your social life, the greater their value becomes.

Are you convinced with the studies conducted by Dr. Piff and Dr. Keltner? Do you believe that having more wealth warps your compassionate side or is the social experiment a scientific anomaly that deal with incomplete data? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

About the author

Christopher Jan Benitez is a Philosophy major with a minor in Creative Writing who has found his calling as a content provider in the world of SEO.

Professionally working for more than five years, he has produced high-quality articles for his clients and employers - both online and offline. He has gotten a lot of his written work published online as a music album reviewer on the Daily Vault, writer for Canned Thoughts, and, at the moment, a blogger for the PrintRunner Blog.

He has also made a mark in print publications as a contributor for the Life and Times section of the Manila Times in 2006 and for Men's Health in 2010.

As an SEO writer, he has helped DivorceGuide.com increase traffic with the series of articles he wrote for the site entitled "How to Divorce - The Essential Guide to Divorce." On the other hand, his articles about the different interior design schools in the world have helped SchoolOfInteriorDesign.org become an online authority for information about interior designs.

He is in the process of expanding his repertoire in the Internet Marketing industry by learning web design, link building, and social media.

Outside work, he plays lead guitar for the heavy metal band Descant Gott. Formed in 2005, the group remains strong after having played in numerous gigs and festivals throughout the years. Their participation in the 2006 Red Horse Muziklaban Grand Finals remains a watershed moment in the band's history. They plan to make history once more as they are in the process of recording their album in culmination of their contributions to the local heavy music scene.

In his attempt to expand his academic endeavors, he is currently enrolled in the Anglo-American Literature program at the University of the Philippines. Putting what he's learned in his occupation to practice, he owns and writes during his spare time for BotchedLegDrop.com, a site about professional wrestling (It's still real to me, dammit!) and has plans to create high converting landing pages to earn that all-important extra income.