Citation

Piff PK, Stancato DM, Côté S, Mendoza-Denton R, Keltner D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2012; 109(11): 4086-4091.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, National Academy of Sciences)

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1118373109

PMID

22371585

PMCID

PMC3306667

Abstract

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

Language: en