Recent research conducted by a UC Berkeley graduate student sheds light on the impact moral dilemmas have on financial decisions.
In a study conducted by Jennifer Stellar, a UC Berkeley psychology doctoral student, and Robb Willer, an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, the researchers explored the relationship between morality and economics. In a paper published this week in an online issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, they concluded that people believe morally tainted money has less value and less purchasing power.
“We tend to think of money as being really objective, but people actually attach a lot of subjective meaning to it,” Stellar said. “We wanted to show the connection between economics and rational decision-making and the fact that morality plays a huge role in our economic decisions.”
Willer and Stellar conducted an experiment involving 59 college-aged participants who were told to enter a mock raffle for a $50 cash prize sponsored by one of two corporations. They were subsequently divided into a “neutral money” group and an “immoral money” group.
The “neutral money” group was told that the raffle prize would be provided by Target, while the “immoral money” group was told their prize would be provided by Wal-Mart. The latter was explicitly told that Wal-Mart had been found guilty of numerous labor-law violations.
The researchers found that those in the
“immoral money” group filled out fewer tickets than those in the “neutral money” group, implying that the participants in the immoral group were not as determined to win the raffle prize because of its association with Wal-Mart.
“People possess powerful motivations to view themselves as fundamentally good and moral,” Willer said during an interview with the UC Berkeley Newscenter. “We find this motivation is so great that it can even lead people to disassociate themselves from money that has acquired negative moral associations.”
Participants were then told to estimate how many of eight food or beverage items — such as a gallon of milk — they could purchase with the $50, and the researchers found that subjects consistently believed money associated with Wal-Mart would buy fewer items.
“This reveals that those in the immoral group believed their money had less value because it is morally tainted,” Stellar said.
The results of the study resonate with ASUC President Connor Landgraf, who said he recognized the link between morality and decisions involving money.
“I absolutely agree with this — I think morality is one of the most important factors in making economic decisions, especially because money represents who we are,” he said.
Contact Jason Liu at [email protected].