This research was conducted to raise awareness that “Economic inequality has widened
over the past twenty years. This should be a concern for everyone, not just those at the bottom”. (Piff)
It was also conducted to illustrate the ramifications on economic injustice as it relates to society
and its current impact on health, education, salary, financial stability, and quality of life. “In the
United States, 15 percent of the population lives in poverty and for children the rate is higher at
21.9 percent” (Mackinnon and Fiala, 329). In translation, 1 in 5 children live in poverty in the United States. These alarming
statistics are a harsh reality in examining our society and what the future may shape up to be if
we do address and develop ways on how to conquer this plague.
They predicted the outcome of the studies would be that there would be a significant
change in how those with money interacted and viewed the world around them. The questions
of interest included “what happens to cooperation” and “what happens to altruism”. Both spark
interesting outcomes as we watched levels of cooperation drop and self-preservation rise.
One of the research experiments, the monopoly game was designed to provide more
privilege and opportunity to those who “flipped” and were chosen to be rich. They were also
extended more turns and more money which poses a great societal question of how people are
born into class or given opportunity and what the outcomes are.
As it relates to two of the studies, we can dissect and breakdown the dependent and independent
variable for further discussion. We see that in the case of the candy, the dependent variable is
the candy with the independent variables being the two cohorts of rich and poor people. As it
pertains to the dice games, the game is the dependent variable and the participants are the
independent variable.
The research study method for the three scenarios can be identified as field studies as they
provided empirical evidence based on each specific situation.
The findings in all three studies can infer that wealthy people seem to have more of a sense
of entitlement and self-preservation. These findings, of course, do not include all wealthy, but a
majority. It also concludes how ones moral fiber can be compromised and reshaped with the
attainment of improved financial status. He concluded that one should never take a situation for
granted and be appreciative of all that life has to offer as a stroke of luck one day can turn into a
misfortune on another day.
What I found to be most surprising was the sense of entitlement and self-interest that was
shaped during the monopoly game. The thrill of the game seemed to shape behavior and
attitudes that were not present during the initial engagement. This truly illustrated how money
and power do shift our moral value system. What I found most interesting was the research
conducted with the cars and how the more expensive car was prone to break the law as opposed
with the candy. This fascinated me because both poor and rich classes participated and although
the rich took 2x more candy, the emphasis is on the act which both parties were in the wrong.
What is the significance? The commonality for me was the issue of greed and perhaps
temptation. One can argue the poor taking the candy out of necessity; hunger. By the same
token, one can delve into the rich taking the candy as a defiance of the law as it relates to their
mindset of being untouchable and almost the motive being okay due to financial status.
This research is important on several levels. First, it examines the human psyche and
demonstrates how class plays an integral role in our moral fiber, value system, and decision
making skills. It is also vital in developing an understanding of our class systems and seeing a
shift in what the classes truly look like as opposed to what they represented 20 years ago. This
research can be useful in helping society by promoting the need of current and future resources
in an effort to perhaps close the huge gap between the classes.
Work cited
MacKinnon, Barbara, and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theory and contemporary issues. Nelson Education, 2014.
Piff, Paul. “Ted Summaries”. Does Money Make You Mean? Ted Talks, September 2014. Web, 16 February 2016 <www.tedsummaries.com>
