Dispositional greed

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Greed is a significant human motive with both positive and negative societal implications.
• Despite its importance, a clear understanding of greed's nature and effects is lacking.
• Existing research has not adequately addressed the measurement of dispositional greed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a reliable scale for measuring dispositional greed.
• To investigate the psychological correlates of greed.
• To examine the impact of greed on economic decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of the 7-item Dispositional Greed Scale (DGS) across multiple studies and countries (total N = 7201).
• Assessment of construct and discriminant validity using correlations with related and unrelated psychological constructs.
• Experimental economic games (dictator, ultimatum, resource dilemma) to measure greedy behavior.

Main Results:

• The DGS demonstrated strong construct and discriminant validity, correlating positively with maximization, self-interest, envy, materialism, and impulsiveness, and negatively with self-control and life satisfaction.
• The DGS uniquely predicted greedy behavioral tendencies beyond materialism.
• Individuals scoring higher on the DGS exhibited more self-serving allocation in dictator and ultimatum games and took more resources in a dilemma game.

Conclusions:

• The Dispositional Greed Scale provides a valid and reliable measure of individual differences in greed.
• Greed is a distinct psychological trait that significantly influences economic behavior.
• This research offers insights into the measurement and behavioral consequences of greed, opening avenues for future study.