New Research Suggests That Greedy People Experience A Fleeting Sense Of Pride Upon Obtaining Something New, Leaving Them Perpetually Desiring More And Fueling A Cycle Of Greed
Greed is known as an unquenchable thirst for acquiring “more” – especially wealth or power – accompanied by an enduring dissatisfaction, regardless of what someone already has.
This contradiction suggests that people inclined towards greed find themselves caught in an endless cycle that fails to actually satisfy their desires.
Now, a recent series of studies has shown that greedy individuals experience a fleeting sense of pride upon obtaining something new. However, this sense of pride diminishes rapidly and leaves them perpetually desiring more.
Study authors Eric J. Mercadante and Jessica L. Tracy delved into this concept by investigating how both authentic and hubristic forms of pride react to fresh acquisitions among people who are greedy.
A total of four studies comprised the research effort and used a combination of correlational, longitudinal, and daily-diary techniques to understand study participants’ emotional reactions to acquiring new possessions.
The first investigation, known as Study S1, included 197 American adults who were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). They completed surveys about their tendencies toward greed, feelings of authentic and hubristic pride, as well as their positive and negative emotions. They focused on their most recent non-essential purchase, rating their emotions at the time of purchase and again several weeks later.
Then, Study 1 included 400 adults from MTurk and had a similar procedure. Participants reflected on their emotions immediately after making a purchase and at follow-up times, which were up to four weeks later. This allowed researchers to observe how feelings of pride change over time following a purchase.
Next, in Study 2, the attention turned towards younger individuals, with 346 undergraduate students recruited to participate in the study. These participants filled out the same surveys as in the previous study, along with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
They noted their initial emotional responses to specific purchases and then followed up one and two weeks later. This structure offered a day-by-day glimpse into how the acquisitions affect emotions over time.
New Africa – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Finally, in Study 3, a total of 3,580 participants from MTurk were initially involved, with 1,082 of them making a purchase that met the study’s criteria.
The study kept using the Greed and Pride Scales, as well as a daily tracking system, over the course of seven days. The participants were instructed to note any qualifying purchases they made, as well as their feelings at that moment. They also reported any activities that might trigger feelings of pride, such as reaching a personal goal.
This setup aimed to see if emotional reactions were unique to purchases or if they occurred in other rewarding situations as well.
The study findings were consistent, showing that people with strong tendencies toward greed felt a notable but short-lived boost in genuine pride right after getting something new. But this feeling didn’t stick around for long.
Rather, it faded quickly over time. What’s crucial is that these results held true across different studies with different methods and groups of people, suggesting a strong and reliable trend.
Moreover, although hubristic pride also went up after acquisitions, it didn’t drop as quickly as authentic pride did. This difference indicates that there are different emotional reactions happening between these two types of pride when it comes to new acquisitions.
So, the study’s findings emphasize how temporary the emotional benefits of purchases are for greedy people. This indicates a possible cycle where they constantly seek more due to short-lived satisfaction.
However, even though Study S1 and Study 1 hinted at a link between self-esteem and the strength of pride reactions, Study 3 – the most extensive and statistically reliable study – did not uncover any connection between greed and self-esteem.
This brings up uncertainties about whether the earlier findings can be applied broadly or if the particular traits of the participants in Study 3, such as demographic variations, might have impacted the outcomes.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in the Journal of Personality, visit the link here.
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