Monday, March 17, 2014

Beware the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

The connection between St. Patrick's day and this post is tenuous at best, but it might start interesting conversations on any day!

I've been seeing more research lately on the impact of wealth/money on our attitudes and actions, and this might be an important discussion topic for psych students as they think about college/career/life path, etc. The research doesn't send a simple message - psychological impacts of wealth are more complex:

  • This Psychology Today blog post is a good overview, I think. Addresses connections to some of the "big" motivation theories, and the link to the quizzes on http://www.beyondthepurchase.org/ are intriguing (that website looks a bit fishy at first glance, but it's run out of San Francisco State, and the research seems legit)
  • Scott Miller (hi Scott!) keeps sending me great stuff, and this article describes a fairly simple study that is an important addition to the topic. Perhaps counter-intuitively, humans seems to accumulate much more than we can use: "Always wanting more, whatever the price"
  • This PBS News Hour story on the impact of wealth includes a powerful video summary of a "monopoly" study - surprising and dramatic results! worth watching! "Exploring the Psychology of Wealth
posted by Rob McEntarffer

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