I’m reading a fascinating book by Daniel Kahneman called Thinking Fast and Slow. Kahneman won a Nobel Prize in economics for his work in psychology challenging the rational model of decision-making. His new book further examines the systems that drive the way we think - and act.
One section of the book really caught my attention. In it, he writes about researcher Kathleen Vohs’ exploration of the effect that money - that is thinking about money and seeing money - has on people’s behavior. In one experiment, people had to construct phrases that had a money theme. In another, people were shown subtle background images of money, like a screen saver on a computer.
In both cases, the subsequent behavior of the test subjects changed. They showed a higher degree of independence and perseverance than would normally be expected. When someone accidentally dropped a bunch of pencils, people with money on their minds showed a much lower inclination to help pick them up. The “money” people showed a higher degree of self-absorption and a greater preference for being alone – even maintaining greater physical separation from other people.
The money experiments seem especially relevant to me as we move into yet another election cycle. We’re already beginning to see the same kind of disdain for lower income people that we saw in the Presidential election back in 2012 – including then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s controversial statements about the “47%”.
So, once again I’ve been wondering how the extremely wealthy can be so lacking in empathy, especially when they have so much else already. And now, thanks to Kahneman, I’m beginning to think that perhaps those 1%-ers who focus so much on money simply can’t help themselves.
Of course, not all of the super-rich are like this, not by a long shot. But those who are tend to give the rest a bad name. And as astonishing as this may sound to most of us, some go so far as to see themselves as a minority that’s both threatened and persecuted.
One of the things I like most about Kahneman’s book is that, while he shows us tendencies and reasons for why we act the way we do, his book is not deterministic. He doesn’t suggest that we’re necessarily compelled or forced to act a certain way. He makes us aware of how our minds work. And in so doing, gives us the opportunity to make better decisions and choices.
There was one more interesting experiment in the book. It described how people who bit a pencil lengthwise between their teeth were more positively inclined toward other people and ideas. That’s because this physical act mimic s the muscle action of a smile. And when you smile, you act in a more positive manner. So the next time you start obsessing about money, try biting down on a pencil. It might even things out.
