Are the Rich Really Rude? What Science Actually Says

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In a previous post I wrote about how cool it can be for one's research to be picked up by the national media. Last week I was lucky enough to have this happen here, here, and here. The article described in the news is based on a program of research that Professor Dacher Keltner and I started about 7-8 years ago. The goal of our research was to study social class-- that is, the collection of social and material conditions of life that rank us in American society relative to others. More specifically, we wanted to understand how a person's position in society-- based on their income, their educational attainment, or their occupation status-- could shape their behavior in social interactions, their perceptions of others, and their emotions. According to the media, our research concludes that the rich are rude/selfish/and lack empathy. But is this really the case? Let's summarize the evidence!

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