Do lawyers ever ponder the topic of money? Could doing so make them less likely to play well with others? The current issue of Science includes research by Kathleen D. Vohs on the psychological effects of the thought of money. LiveScience.com also reported on the research in "Mere Thought of Money Makes People Selfish." From the LiveScience article:
Just the mere thought of money can turn a person selfish, so that he helps others less often and prefers to play alone, a new study shows.
In a series of nine experiments, researchers found that money enhanced people's motivation to achieve their own goals and degraded their behavior toward others. The concept of money, they suggest, makes a person feel more self-sufficient and thus more apt to stand alone.
The scientists said the study had nothing to do with making a person feel wealthy. When real or fake money, or even a photo of cash, was placed in sight of participants, they became selfish.
After further explanation of the research and its possible implications in the both personal and business lives, the author ends:
A take-home message, Vohs explained, is that “cooperation really goes down the drain when money is an issue.”
For business managers, this could translate into keeping the idea of money in the background.
“In a lot of businesses, we train our MBA’s to work in teams," Vohs said. "If the team has a sales goal, then to the extent that money is really a big topic to that team, you’re likely to see that cooperation is going to be reduced.”
What idea is in the foreground of your firm? Service to clients? Personal satisfaction? Professional satisfaction? Intra-firm collaboration? Firm conflicts? Money?
Money is neutral, neither bad nor good. Its uses may be beneficial or detrimental, of course. That is why I find this research curious. What are your thoughts?
Note (added November 21, 2006, 1:15 PM Mountain): From ScientificAmerican.com comes another article on this research "Keeping Money in Mind Makes People Less Helpful."
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