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Just looking at pictures of luxury brands makes people more inclined to be selfish. So say researchers from Harvard and London business schools.
In an experiment, they split people into two groups. To one, they showed pictures of luxury shoes and watches. To the other, they showed mundane items. Afterward, they asked each group allegedly unrelated questions about how they would act as a business CEO. Those in the first group, “primed” by luxury goods, were more likely to pick options that meant the most profit, regardless of society’s interests.
The researchers conducted a second experiment that showed the exposure to luxury was triggering self- interest rather than a tendency to hurt others.
