A weekend trip to New York, a Tesla in the garage: there are a number of perks to being rich. Flaunting this status can be detrimental, however, as a series of studies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows. Most people prefer to work with more modest people, according to the conclusion of six experiments with more than 2800 test persons. Those who adorn themselves with status symbols, for example on social media, are less likely to put the well-being of others above their own interests.
A team led by marketing researcher Shalena Srna from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor had recruited the test subjects on the Internet and at universities. They were confronted with fictional scenarios such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma, a classic game theory experiment in which two people must decide without consultation whether to shoot the other for their own benefit. The subjects behaved less cooperatively towards fellow players who signaled a high status.
In another experiment, subjects were asked to select people to join their community based on social media profiles. The profiles contained posts such as »I saw the cutest puppy today!« or posts about expensive clothes and travel, for example »On the way to Madrid!«. Those who signaled high status with their profile were not only judged to be wealthier but also more self-serving and were less likely to be recommended as a new group member. In other circumstances, however, status symbols were beneficial: when it came to competition, those of recognizable high status were more likely to be chosen.