The impact of perceived material wealth and perceiver personality on first impressions

Abstract

This study examined how wealth cues and the social image concerns of the perceiver influence interpersonal attributions about others. American college students (N=150) read vignettes that described a man or a woman in either an affluent or not so affluent home setting. They then evaluated the target person on 20 personal qualities and indicated their desire to have the target's lifestyle. The affluent target was evaluated as having more personal ability (e.g., intelligence, self-discipline), more sophisticated qualities (e.g., cultured, successful), and a more desirable lifestyle than the not so affluent target. However, an "affluent people are not nice" stereotype seemed to be evoked, as the affluent target was rated as less considerate of others (e.g., less kind, likable, honest) than the not so affluent person. The appearance of affluence, at least in the American culture, is a powerful and unmistakable social testament to a person's ability, sophistication, and considerateness. The impact of personality differences in self-monitoring, social identity, and materialism were small relative to the impact of affluence cues.