Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior

Seven studies using experimental and naturalistic methods reveal that upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lowerclass individuals.


P a u l K. P i f f

Institute of Personality and Social Research
Psychology Department
University of California, Berkeley

In studies 1 and 2, upper-class individuals were more likely to break the law while driving, relative to lower-class individuals. In follow-up laboratory studies, upper-class individuals were more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies (study 3), take valued goods from others (study 4), lie in a negotiation (study 5), cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize (study 6), and endorse unethical behavior at work (study 7) than were lower class individuals. Mediator and moderator data demonstrated that upper-class individuals’ unethical tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed.

Pairing ethics courses with economics may be beneficial, Piff said.
“It might be as simple as not only stressing individual performance, but the value of cooperation and improving the welfare of others,” he said. “That goes a long way.”

The U.S. is the most economically stratified society in the western world. The Wall Street Journal reported a recent study that the top .01% or 14,000 American families hold 22.2% of the wealth and the bottom 90% or over 133 million families, hold just 4% of the nation's wealth. The U.S. Census Bureau and the World Wealth Report of 2010 both indicated wealth increased for the top 5% of households even during the recession. Based on Internal Revenue Service figures, the richest 1% has tripled their cut of America's income pie in one generation.     Psychology Today

The level of inequality we allow represents our answer to a "very important question," says Nancy Krieger, of Harvard University, and that is, "what kind of society do we want to live in?"

There are clear disturbing indicators from the research of Piff, Keltner and others, that the dominance of the wealthy, along with their apparent disposition for greed and unethical behavior, will feed the trend of income inequality, at the cost of well being for millions of Americans.
World Wealth Report 2010   

to better understand the key trends that affect high net worth individuals (HNWIs) around the globe.

World Wealth Report 2010 from Capgemini