Moral decision making and happiness | Molly Crockett

TL;DR

Money can be tainted and is less valuable when earned through immoral means, but its value can be restored through storytelling and the belief that it benefits a good cause.

Transcript

the World Economic Forum is perhaps an unusual place to share scientific evidence that money won't necessarily make you happy but here we are and it gets worse I'm here to suggest that certain kinds of money might even make you less happy at first this may seem to contradict the classic economic model of human nature Homo economicus whose happiness... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤑 Money's value depends not only on self-interest but also on the welfare of others, challenging the classic economic model of human nature.
• 🤑 Ill-gotten gains are less valuable than money earned ethically, as observed in experiments where people require twice as much money to shock a stranger compared to themselves.
• 🧠 The brain's reward circuitry treats immoral earnings as less valuable, and individual differences in brain responses can predict moral behavior.
• 👋 Storytelling and belief in a good cause can restore the value of ill-gotten gains, as seen in studies where participants are more willing to hurt others when the money goes to charity.
• 🤑 This research highlights the complex relationship between morality, money, and human behavior, suggesting a possible model of human nature as Homo Morales who cares about both self-interest and the welfare of others.
• 🛰️ It emphasizes the importance of the stories we tell ourselves in justifying our choices and potentially tricking ourselves back into selfishness.
• 👋 The findings also raise questions about corruption and how individuals can justify immoral behavior if they believe the money goes to a good cause.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the value of money depend on whether it is earned morally?

Studies show that ill-gotten gains are less valuable than money earned decently. People require about twice as much money to shock a stranger compared to themselves, indicating a devaluation of immoral earnings.

Q: What is the correlation between brain responses and moral behavior?

Individual differences in the brain's response to ill-gotten gains are linked to differences in the price of pain for oneself versus a stranger. The brain's reward circuitry treats immoral earnings as less valuable, and those who show a larger devaluation display more moral behavior.

Q: Can the value of ill-gotten gains be restored?

In preliminary studies, it was found that if the money earned from shocking others goes to a charity, participants are more willing to shock others than themselves. This suggests that the value of ill-gotten gains can be laundered with good storytelling and the belief in a good cause.

Q: What does this mean for our models of human nature?

This research challenges the classic economic model of human nature that focuses solely on maximizing material self-interest. It suggests that humans care about the welfare of others and can trick themselves back into selfishness through storytelling. It poses the question of what kind of stories individuals will choose.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Money's value depends on whether it is earned morally, as observed in experiments where individuals are given the opportunity to shock strangers in exchange for money. Ill-gotten gains are less valuable than money earned decently.

• Brain scans show that the brain's reward circuitry treats ill-gotten gains as less valuable compared to money earned ethically. This brain response is correlated with individual differences in moral behavior.

• In preliminary studies, when the money earned from shocking others goes to a charity, participants are more willing to shock another person than themselves, suggesting that storytelling and belief in a good cause can restore the value of ill-gotten gains.