That’s spot-on advice. If something like this comes up while you’re preparing for your wedding, don’t ignore it. Planning a wedding shouldn’t turn you into a shrew.
The Wealthy Want More
A survey by psychologists at the University of California at Berkeley found that people who consider themselves financially better off are more likely to lie and cheat compared with those who are not, reports Amanda Gardner of Health.com.
“Elevated wealth status seems to make you want even more, and that increased want leads you to bend the rules or break the rules to serve your self-interest,” said Paul Piff, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in psychology at the university.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were drawn from seven separate experiments that together included more than 1,000 people.
“We’re not saying you should distrust the rich, or the rich are corrupt,” said Piff. “Instead, this highlights the disparities in social environments -- that different positions occupied give rise to almost natural tendencies and divergent social values.”
However, Robert Gore, an associate professor of psychology at Alliant International University in San Francisco, pointed out in the article that class, status and ethics are all slippery concepts that are difficult to pin down in experiments. Gore said: “This study really shows that people who identify as in a higher social class are more likely to admit unethical behavior. It’s not clear whether they actually behave worse or just claim to.”
Responses to “Charging for Detention”
Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago charges students for detention. The Associated Press reported that students at the network’s 10 high schools pay $5 every time they are sent to detention for infractions that even include chewing gum and having untied shoelaces.
For last week’s Color of Money Question, I asked: “Do you think it’s a good policy to charge students for detention?”
Michael Bader of Denver thought the detention tax was a great idea. “I find it interesting that rather than see to it that their kids tie their shoes or button their clothing, the people would rather use the ‘class card’ when in reality these are the kids that most need to understand how to live in society.”
Most others who responded disagreed.
“The charging for detention rule is absolutely appalling,” wrote Allison Schentrup of San Francisco. “First, let’s address the fact that an 8-year-old does not make any money, so the $5 fee they are forced to pay is right out of their parent’s pocket (hence arguably more of a punishment for the parent than the student). Second, the model may follow parking tickets, but not much else in the way of ‘real life’ circumstances, which means the students are not being adequately prepared for adulthood.”
Tiffany L. of Alexandria, La., wrote: “This policy teaches children that their parents can ‘pay’ their way out of trouble. What kind of message is that for a child?”
“I thought that detention itself served that purpose,” said Chris Oberlin of Bethesda. “The fact that the Noble Network of Charter Schools collected almost $190,000 in fees at its 10 high schools suggests the possibility that this has less to do with turning kids into upstanding citizens and more to do with being an additional revenue stream.”
Tia Lewis contributed to this e-letter.
You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.
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