PUBLIC OPINION > Rich People Want Money, Lower Incomes Prefer Respect
SodaHead Living
2012/06/25 16:00:00
A series of studies conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, found that respect tends to have a stronger effect on students' "social well-being" than socioeconomic status, and that gaining or losing respect tends to correspond with a student's sense of power. So we asked the public if respect makes them happier than money does.
It was interesting to see how split the responses were, but in the end respect won out over money by a narrow margin. It seems to be a somewhat fundamental difference between the way people perceive social status. Both money and respect can "win" people over. The one edge respect seemed to have over money was that money can sometimes attract two-faced friends. But let's take a closer look at the demographic breakdown.
Have Money, Will Smile
The first thing we checked out was the income breakdown, and as you might expect, there was a clear difference. You've probably heard the saying that you can't buy happiness, but according to poll results, you can. The more money respondents made, the more likely they were to say money brings happiness. As Daniel Tosh once said, money does buy a Sea-Doo. And you can't frown on a Sea-Doo.
Progressives Want Respect
Polls dealing with money generally have political implications. Right-leaning respondents believe in the freedom to pursue their fortunes, while left-leaning respondents are more likely to sacrifice some of that opportunity for equality. Not surprisingly, progressives and libertarians voted more strongly than liberals and conservatives.
Men Are More Into Money
The gender breakdown wasn't very big, just 10%, but it's an interesting statistic to put forth. In a recent poll we discovered that most people think men are less moral than women, and a while back we found that the public feels well-off people are more likely to cheat. However, women tend to fall for jerks, so it's not like it matters all that much in the end.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about money and respect. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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(▪‿▪)DoctorWhoGuru(▪‿▪) 2012/06/26 01:43:55
BTW, money will NEVER buy u TRUE respect, ur just renting it till u run out.
some peopl edo work hard though, even many homeless people work, in construction! and such
People who have money, especially those who have made their own wealth know their own value and have no real need to "impress" others with overt acts.
let me tell you, as someone who has money, its not all that.