A new study has shed light on the social behaviour of the older generation and has found out that the millennials might have been more selfish and cheap as compared to the Generation X.

According to a Great Kiwi Fairness Debate survey of 500 people, people aged 18 to 27 from Generation Y, are the least likely to offer one a cup of tea or pay for a round of drinks, and they score lower than their older counterparts in almost every social situation, Stuf.co.nz reported.

The survey, commissioned by Fairtrade NZ, showed that shows skipping queues, not relinquishing your seat to someone more in need and debating whether to eat that last biscuit are among the moral dilemmas dividing respondents.

Auckland University social psychology lecturer Danny Osborne said that fairness is an "amorphous concept" that is always evolving and young people were in some cases more likely than old people to champion causes they believed were fair, such as same-sex marriage.