High Society Crimes More Likely to be Committed by Wealthy People

A new study conducted by American and Canadian researchers has found that wealthy people were more likely to commit high society crimes compared to poorer people. The study was conducted by psychologists from the University of California and the University of Toronto. They found that wealthy people were more likely to break laws while driving or were willing to lie for financial gain. The seven part study involved a number of experiments including driving behavior, a game of dice involving a monetary reward and a job interview.

The researchers found that wealthy people were more likely to indulge in unethical practices compared to poorer people. For example the researchers found that people who drove expensive cars were more likely to cut pedestrians crossing the road compared to those with cheaper cars while they were also likely to lie about the number that they had rolled in a game of dice in order to win the $50 prize.

“What it comes down to, really, is that money creates more of a self-focus, which may account for larger feelings of entitlement. We hope to further study how we can curb these patterns and how that will affect our social environment”, lead researcher Paul Piff said.

Source-Medindia