Rich People More Likely to Lie, Cheat, Study Suggests

Rich People More Likely to Lie, Cheat, Study Suggests - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com:


The cream of society may rise to the top, but so might the scum — researchers now find that people in the upper crust may be more likely to engage in lying, cheating and other kinds of unethical activity than those in lower classes.

These new findings do not mean that everyone of high status behaves unethically, nor that everyone in lower society behaves ethically, scientists cautioned.

"We're not saying that if you're rich, you're necessarily unethical, and that if you're poor, you're necessarily ethical — there are lots of instances of increased ethical conduct among upper-class individuals, such as the tremendous philanthropy of Warren Buffett or Bill Gates," said researcher Paul Piff, a social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley.