Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Nice people may be at greater risk of bankruptcy and other financial hardships compared with their less agreeable peers, not because they are more cooperative, but because they don't value money as much, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"We were interested in understanding whether having a nice and warm personality, what academics in personality research describe as agreeableness, was related to negative financial outcomes," said Sandra Matz, PhD, of Columbia Business School and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. "Previous research suggested that agreeableness was associated with lower credit scores and income. We wanted to see if that association held true for other financial indicators and, if so, better understand why nice guys seem to finish last."
[...] "We found that agreeableness was associated with indicators of financial hardship, including lower savings, higher debt and higher default rates," said Gladstone. "This relationship appears to be driven by the fact that agreeable people simply care less about money and therefore are at higher risk of money mismanagement."
[...] "Not every agreeable person is at equal risk of experiencing financial hardship," Gladstone said. "The relationship was much stronger for lower-income individuals, who don't have the financial means to compensate for the detrimental impact of their agreeable personality."
Nice guys finish last: When and why agreeableness is associated with economic hardship (DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000220)
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday October 15 2018, @12:51AM
Wait, this is a *fact*? They may care *more* about being agreeable than about money, but this doesn't sound right.
Could it be that in some situations, just being agreeable can directly impact people financially, negatively, and substantially? I'd think that some folks want to be agreeable with a bunch of people, and eventually find some friends who notice that and are able to collect significant fractions of your money. The same $100 for groceries or consumer goods that those acquaintances get from you could be a large fraction for "... lower-income individuals, who don't have the financial means to compensate for the detrimental impact of their agreeable personality."
I've also seen people equate "being agreeable" to "not taking money when people offer it", which also makes sense.