The psychology of greed ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Summary

In this BBC Learning English episode, Neil and Beth discuss the concept of greed. Neil argues that greed, such as wanting material possessions, increases social status, while Beth highlights greed as a negative trait, even one of the seven deadly sins. They explore how greed is tied to the brain's reward center, and psychologist Paul Piff’s study reveals how wealth can diminish empathy. The show concludes with a discussion on the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi, 'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed,' alongside useful vocabulary related to the topic.

Takeaways

• 😀 Greed is seen as a natural desire to acquire things that improve one's social status.
• 🤔 Greed is also considered one of the seven deadly sins, representing selfishness and lack of sharing.
• 🧠 Greed is controlled by the brain's reward center, influencing people to feel good about acquiring things.
• 🎲 Professor Paul Piff's Monopoly experiment showed how privileged players attributed their success to skill, ignoring the unfair advantage.
• 🍀 The phrase 'flip of a coin' describes how chance plays a role in outcomes, yet winners often claim personal responsibility.
• 👢 The idiom 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' means improving one's situation through hard work without help.
• 🏠 Wealth can lead to social independence, reducing reliance on others and potentially decreasing empathy.
• 💭 Rich individuals may have less empathy because they don't need to rely on others as much.
• 🌍 Mahatma Gandhi famously said, 'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed,' emphasizing the dangers of excessive greed.
• 📚 Vocabulary from the program includes 'stuff' (material possessions), 'take credit' (accept recognition), 'flip of a coin' (random chance), 'well-off' (financially comfortable), and 'empathy' (understanding others' feelings).

Q & A

What does Neil want to include in his birthday wish list?

Neil wants a new laptop, a gold Rolex watch, and a red sports car.

How does Beth react to Neil's wish list?

Beth thinks Neil's wish list is a bit greedy and questions if he really needs all those things.

What is Neil's perspective on greed?

Neil believes that greed is good and that humans are genetically wired to desire things that enhance their social status, such as power, material possessions, and money.

What is the quote Beth refers to about greed, and who is attributed to saying it?

The quote is, 'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed,' attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

According to the programme, how does greed operate at a neurological level?

At a neurological level, greed is controlled by the reward center of the brain, which makes people feel good when they acquire things they want, often unconsciously, without considering how it affects others.

What was the outcome of Professor Paul Piff's Monopoly experiment?

In the experiment, the 'rich' players who were given advantages took credit for their wins, believing it was their decisions and actions that led to their success, despite the fact that the game was rigged in their favor.

What does 'taking credit' mean in the context of the Monopoly experiment?

Taking credit means that the players accepted praise and recognition for their success, even though the outcome was based on random chance and not their personal skill or effort.

What is meant by the idiom 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps'?

The idiom 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' means improving your situation through your own hard work and efforts, without any external help.

How does financial well-being affect empathy, according to Professor Piff?

Professor Piff suggests that wealthier people tend to be more socially independent and rely on others less, which can result in lower empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.

What vocabulary terms were discussed in the programme, and what do they mean?

The vocabulary terms discussed include: 'stuff' (material possessions), 'take credit' (accept recognition for something), 'flip of a coin' (an action based on luck), 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' (improving your situation through hard work), 'well-off' (being financially comfortable), and 'empathy' (the ability to understand others' feelings).

Outlines

00:00

💰 Understanding Greed: Desires and Social Status

The episode begins with a humorous conversation between Neil and Beth about Neil’s extravagant birthday wish list, which includes expensive items like a laptop, a gold Rolex watch, and a red sports car. Beth highlights that wanting so much is a sign of greed. Neil justifies his desires by saying that humans are genetically programmed to want things that increase their social status. The discussion transitions into a more serious tone as they introduce the topic of greed — the desire to accumulate and keep material possessions for oneself, which is also one of the seven deadly sins. The hosts promise to explore this concept further and share useful vocabulary along the way. Neil then poses a question, quoting a famous leader: ‘The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not everyone’s greed.’ He asks Beth who said this, and she guesses Mahatma Gandhi.

05:01

🎲 The Psychology of Greed: A Monopoly Experiment

The script dives into a study by Professor Paul Piff from the University of California, which used a rigged version of the board game Monopoly to investigate the effects of greed. In the experiment, one player was given an advantage, like rolling two dice instead of one and earning twice as much money as the other player. Despite the setup, when asked about their success, the ‘rich’ players took credit for their victories, attributing their win to personal choices and skill rather than the rigged nature of the game. This response illustrates how people can internalize success as a result of their efforts, even when it’s based on random factors, symbolized by the phrase ‘the flip of a coin.’ The host explains the idiom 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps,' which means to improve one's situation through hard work without external help. The experiment demonstrated that a sense of financial superiority could lead to feelings of personal superiority.

🏠 Wealth, Independence, and the Loss of Empathy

Professor Piff’s study continues, highlighting that feeling financially better off can alter one’s perception and behavior towards others. The script explains that wealth often buys people more physical space — bigger houses, private offices, and a sense of independence. As a result, those who are financially well-off may become less empathetic and more socially independent, feeling less need for others. This decreased reliance on others can lead to a reduction in empathy, the ability to share and understand the feelings of others. The discussion suggests that the negative impact of wealth is not so much due to greed itself, but rather what people are greedy for. Greed for material possessions and power may be harmful, while greed for social justice or a clean environment could be positive.

✅ Final Thoughts and Vocabulary Recap

Neil reveals that Beth was correct in identifying Mahatma Gandhi as the source of the quote: ‘The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not everyone’s greed.’ They then recap the key vocabulary discussed in the episode. The term ‘stuff’ refers to informal material possessions. ‘To take credit for something’ means to accept praise or recognition, deserved or not. ‘A flip of a coin’ refers to decisions based purely on luck. ‘To pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ means to improve through personal effort without external assistance. ‘Well-off’ describes someone financially comfortable, and ‘empathy’ is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. The hosts sign off, encouraging listeners to return for more educational discussions in future episodes.

Keywords

💡Greed

Greed refers to the excessive desire to accumulate more than what one needs, particularly material possessions like money or power. In the script, Neil initially celebrates greed as something that enhances social status, while Beth points out that greed is one of the seven deadly sins. The program explores the neurological and psychological aspects of greed, noting how it can cloud empathy and fairness.

💡Material possessions

Material possessions refer to tangible items people own, such as money, cars, and houses. In the video, Neil lists his desired material possessions (a laptop, a Rolex, and a sports car), associating them with social status. The script suggests that an overemphasis on accumulating possessions is central to the concept of greed.

💡Social status

Social status is the position or rank of a person within society. In the script, Neil links greed with the desire for social status, suggesting that people are wired to want things that elevate their position in society. The conversation highlights how material wealth can falsely create a sense of superiority over others.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others by imagining oneself in their place. The script points out that wealthy individuals may lack empathy because they rely less on others in their lives. This reduced reliance can lead to a diminished ability to connect with others’ emotions, contributing to the negative social effects of greed.

💡Well-off

Being well-off refers to having enough wealth to live comfortably and acquire most things one desires. The script contrasts the well-off with those who have less, discussing how wealth can lead to social independence, which may result in a lack of empathy and increased self-centeredness.

💡Flip of a coin

The phrase 'flip of a coin' is used to describe something determined by random chance. In the video, this idiom is used to explain how the outcome of Professor Piff’s Monopoly experiment was determined by luck rather than skill. The rich players, however, attributed their success to their own decisions, ignoring the role of chance.

💡Pull yourself up by your bootstraps

This idiom means to improve one’s situation through personal effort, without help from others. In the script, it is discussed in the context of wealth, where some people believe they achieved success solely through hard work. However, the Monopoly experiment suggests that luck often plays a large role in success.

💡Monopoly experiment

The Monopoly experiment conducted by Professor Paul Piff is used in the script to illustrate how people who are given an advantage (like rolling two dice instead of one) often attribute their success to personal skill rather than luck. This highlights how privilege can distort one’s perception of fairness and effort, reinforcing the program’s theme of greed.

💡Privilege

Privilege refers to advantages that people have due to their social, economic, or other statuses. In the script, Professor Piff’s experiment shows how people who are in privileged positions tend to take credit for their success, even when their advantages are a matter of luck, such as winning in a rigged game of Monopoly.

💡Need vs. greed

This concept contrasts the basic necessities (need) with the excessive desire for more (greed). The script refers to a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, stating 'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed.' This highlights how greed leads to inequality, as it drives people to accumulate resources beyond what they actually require.

Highlights

The program discusses the concept of greed, defined as the desire to accumulate and keep possessions without sharing them.

Neil expresses that greed is a natural human trait that enhances social status through material possessions like money, cars, and houses.

Beth counters that greed is considered one of the seven deadly sins, highlighting the moral implications of excessive desire.

The program includes a famous quote, 'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed,' by Mahatma Gandhi.

Greed is controlled by the brain's reward center, operating at an unconscious emotional level, making people unaware of how their actions may affect others.

University of California psychologist Professor Paul Piff used a rigged Monopoly game to study greed, where one player had an unfair advantage.

The 'rich' players in the Monopoly experiment credited their win to their own decisions and skills, ignoring the game's rigged nature.

The term 'taking credit' refers to accepting praise for something, deserved or not, highlighting how perception can be skewed by privilege.

The phrase 'flip of a coin' is used to describe outcomes based on random chance, emphasizing the role of luck in the Monopoly game.

The idiom 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' means to improve your situation through personal effort without external help.

The experiment revealed that feeling financially better off can lead to feeling superior to others, showing how money can influence self-perception.

Professor Piff argues that wealthy people may lack empathy because they are more socially independent and less reliant on others.

Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share another person's feelings, which may be diminished by wealth and social independence.

The program suggests that being greedy for positive causes, such as social justice or environmental protection, can be viewed positively.

Beth correctly identifies Mahatma Gandhi as the source of the quote, emphasizing the ethical distinction between need and greed.

Transcripts

Hello. This is Six Minute

English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.

I'm writing my birthday wish list,

Beth. Listen, I want a new laptop, a gold Rolex watch and a red sports car.

That is quite a lot,

Neil. Isn't that a bit greedy?

So what! Greed is good. We are genetically built to want things

that increase our social status. Power and material possessions like money,

a nice house, a fast car and all that stuff.

I'm not so sure Neil. Remember

greed is also one of the seven deadly sins.

In this programme, we'll be discussing greed –

the desire to accumulate stuff,

keep it for yourself and not share it with others.

And of course, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first I have a question for you, Beth.

You reminded me of a famous quote by one of history's greatest leaders,

'The world has enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed'.

But who said it? Was it:

A. the Dalai Lama,

B. Mahatma Gandhi or C. Martin Luther King?

I think it was Mahatma Gandhi. OK, Beth.

I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme.

At the neurological level,

greed is controlled by the reward centre of the brain.

Greedy people feel good when they choose the stuff they want

and this happens at the unconscious, emotional level of the brain

meaning there is little conscious awareness about how greedy actions

might affect others or be unfair. What does this look like  

in real life? That's what University of California

psychologist, Professor Paul Piff, investigated using the

classic family board game, Monopoly. The game was rigged to give one

'rich' player an advantage by letting them roll two dice

instead of one, and collecting twice as much money as the poor player

when passing Go.

So, what happened when Professor Piff asked the 'rich' players why they had

inevitably won the fixed game?

Listen to the answer he gave to BBC

Radio 4 programme, Seven Deadly Psychologies:  

...they took credit for their wins.

They talked about how they'd controlled their own outcomes,

they talked about how it was the decisions

they made that had led to their being ultimately victorious, and

not the flip of a coin that randomly got them into that position of privilege

in the first place. Now, I don't know that

this is a perfect model for how privilege,

success or wealth operates in everyday life.

Some people indeed have worked themselves up by their bootstraps

and get what they have because they worked hard...

Interestingly, the rich players took credit for winning.

If you take credit for something, you accept praise and recognition

for doing something, whether or not that praise and recognition is deserved.

In fact, it was the fixed game that determined who would win and lose,

not anything the players did. Professor Piff uses the expression,

the flip of a coin, to describe something which is based solely

on random chance, like when you flip a coin into the air.

Whether it lands on heads or tails

is pure luck. Yet

the winning players claimed they won

thanks to their own skill and ability. Here,

Professor Piff uses

another idiom, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps,

meaning to improve your situation through your own hard work,

without help from anyone else. Worryingly,

the experiment showed how feeling financially better off

than others can easily change into feeling better than others. And

the reason behind these feelings could be what

money buys you, especially one thing:

space. If you're rich,

you own a big house. At work

you have your own spacious, private office.

You live in your own private bubble.

Here's Professor Piff, again talking with BBC

Radio 4’s, Seven Deadly Psychologies:

People who are well-off are just more socially independent.

They don't need others in their lives as much,

and when you don't need others,

well, your empathy might suffer as a result.

People who are well-off, and rich enough to do

what they want, rely on other people less. As a result,

they may lack empathy – the ability to share someone else's feelings

by imagining what it would be like to be them.

Maybe it's not greed itself

that's bad, but the things we're greedy for. Being greedy for social justice

or a clean environment is good,

right? Something to be admired by the world leader in your question, Neil...

Yes, I asked you

who said 'The world has enough for everyone's need,

but not everyone's greed.'

You said it was Mahatma Gandhi,

which was... the correct answer, Beth.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary

we have learned from this programme,

starting with stuff - an informal word for material possessions.

To take credit for something means to allow people to believe

that something you did deserves praise or recognition.

The phrase, a flip of a coin,

refers to an action or decision based on luck or random chance.

If you pull yourself up by your bootstraps,

you improve your situation through your own efforts,

without help from anyone else.

Someone who is well-off

is rich enough to be able to have most of what they want.

And finally, empathy means experiencing someone else's feelings

by putting yourself in their place. Once again

our six minutes are up.

Join us again soon for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here

at Six Minute

English. Goodbye

for now. Goodbye!