Does Money Make You Mean?

More From This Episode

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Money Paradox.

About Paul Piff's TEDTalk

Social psychologist Paul Piff describes how wealth changes behavior and how almost anyone's behavior can change when they're made to feel rich.

About Paul Piff

Paul Piff is a social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies how wealth — or the lack of wealth — can affect behavior.

His studies include running rigged games of Monopoly, tracking how those who drive expensive cars behave behind the wheel, and even determining that rich people are more likely to take candy from children than the less well-off. He writes, "I have been finding that increased wealth and status in society lead to increased self-focus and, in turn, decreased compassion, altruism, and ethical behavior."