The Psychological Consequences of Money. Money has been said to change people’s motivation (mainly for the better) and their behavior toward others (mainly for the worse). Reminders of money, relative to non money reminders, led to reduced requests for help and reduced helpfulness toward others.
Money. So much of our lives is spent wanting it, needing it, earning it, spending it and then regretting what we did with it.
There are many things that play into our relationship with money, including our upbringing, education, and employment, but we often overlook the psychological factors at play.
Money tips backed by science:
- Always pay for snacks in cash if you’re trying to eat healthily.
- Before a credit card purchase, imagine getting that amount of money out of the ATM.
- If your headache is really bad, buy the more expensive branded pain relief.
- Choose an expensive all-you-can-eat buffet rather than a cheap one.
- Open a savings account at the other end of the country (the money will feel further away).
- If you’re spending for happiness, buy experiences rather than material goods.
- If you want to treat yourself, buy something memorable.
- Don’t do a wine course, if you learn too much about wine you’ll start caring about what you drink.
- Think carefully about insurance. Are you insuring against regret or because you can’t afford to pay in case the worst happens?
- Think carefully about a better paid promotion, if it means less enjoyable work.
Happiness and money, it’s complicated
The relationship between money and happiness is complex.
When researchers have tried to tease this out by looking at those who suddenly find themselves with loads of money, like lottery winners, they have found more money doesn’t necessarily mean greater happiness.
A famous study from the 1970s compared lottery winners with a group of people who had been paralysed and a group who had had no change in their circumstances. The researchers found that within a year the lottery winners were not much happier than they had been before their win, and that their newly acquired wealth had stopped bringing them happiness.
The study’s findings have since been backed up by other research that shows money can come and go, but our happiness largely remains the same.
But when you look at those living in poverty, a different picture emerges. In a given society, people with money in a society tend to be happier than those who don’t have enough.
“The people with more money are, on average, happier than the people with less money. They have less to worry about because they are not worried about where they are going to get food or money for their accommodation or whatever the following week,” Ms Hammond said.
But even taking this into account, people massively overestimate the happiness money brings.
“So if you ask people to guess how happy somebody on a low salary is and how happy somebody on a high salary is we tend to think that people earning loads must be really, really happy all the time and that people earning a little must be miserable all the time. It’s just not the case at all.”
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