The Psychological Value of Money
Money can be exchanged for material goods that are essential for our physiological and psychological
well-being, but are there direct effects of money on our psychological state and behavior?
Vohs et al.(p. 1154; see the Perspective by Burgoyne and Lea) primed human subjects to think about having
money and found that these subjects acted in a more self-sufficient fashion than those who were not
primed.
Possessing money made it less likely that subjects would ask for help in solving a problem, or
offer help to another person, or make donations.
In addition, subjects with money would distance
themselves—literally and figuratively—from others.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/314/5802/1045k.pdf