Rough Draft Thesis

Americans crave money and that is why wealth makes people do unethical things that they wouldn't normally do. 

OR

American's obsession with money has made people lose sight of their morals and has made people start doing unethical things. 

Coming Soon!

Interview with D.G. Elmore - Chairman of Elmore Companies

Questions that D.G. will be answering:

Were you taught that having a lot of money matters?

In your opinion, what is more valuable than money?

Do you think the media has an impact on why people want to be rich?

What do you think makes someone "rich"?

How do you balance your money and morals?

As a businessman, do you ever feel like you are making decisions based solely around money?

Would having all the money in the world make you genuinely happy?

What actually makes you happy?

"Paul Piff: Does money make you mean?"

Ted. "Paul Piff: Does money make you mean?" Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 20 December 2013. 4 November 2014.

Paul Piff explores the idea that having money isn't always good. He focuses on a couple different studies that he has done himself that prove how money can affect people in negative ways. In the first study he has his subjects play a game of monopoly. One of the players was succeeding and was rich in monopoly money while the other was struggling and was poor. Even though this is a game with fake money, the rich player was much ruder and more demonstrative towards the poor player. He said things like "You're gonna lose all your money soon" and "I'm pretty much untouchable at this point". Piff also focuses on the fact that as someone's wealth increases, their compassion and empathy decreases but their entitlement and self interest increases. The most interesting study that Piff talked about was one that he conducted on the streets in California. In California, it is a law to stop your vehicle to let a pedestrian cross the street. However, the results of the study showed that the more expensive cars would break the law and drive right past the pedestrian while the less expensive cars would stop to let the pedestrian cross. This shows how selfish money can make someone. Piff's aim was to educate people about how money can be negative so that we can all be more aware of how people with a lot of  money come across to others. I think that the way Piff incorporated videos and his studies really helped me understand first hand what he was trying to portray. I agree with Piff and think Americans need to be more aware of themselves and how their money directly affects the way they act.

"Time Money and Morality"

Gino, Francesca, and Mogilner, Cassie. "Time, Money, and Morality." Psychological Science 25.2 (2014): n. pag. Web. 28 October 2014.

This article explores the idea of time and money and how those two things affect someone's morality. The authors of this article, Francesca Gino and Cassie Mogilner, believe that people who are focused on money tend to be more self-interested than people who aren't as obsessed with being rich. Gino and Mogilner conducted a study and 125 Americans stated that they think more about money than time. This is also accurately depicted in on Google Trends. "Over the past 5 years, 'save money' received 73% more searches than 'save time'". The authors put these facts and statistics in the article to prove to the reader that it is a relevant topic during this time. They wrote this partly to inform about how Americans live their life but also to try and encourage people that thinking less about money and more about time will allow people to find out who they really are. Three Experiments were also explained in detailed that really helped show how detrimental thinking about money all the time can be. In Experiment 3, half of the participants had to choose lyrics from a song that had to do with money and the other half had to choose lyrics from a song that had to do with time. After submitting their lyrics, they all had to complete as many matrices as they could from a set of 20 in just 5 minutes. They then were instructed to throw away their answer sheets before reporting their scores. Unbeknownst to them, the experimenters kept track of their answers secretly. They then were told to report their scores. As predicted, the participants who had chosen lyrics about money lied about their results more than the people who picked lyrics about time. I think putting these experiments into the article helps the reader understand and believe what the author is trying to portray. After reading this article, I do not question whether time and money have anything to do with morality. I believe that Americans should stop thinking and obsessing over money and spend more effort trying to spend their time in more beneficial ways.

Academic Research Sources

Source 1: This article talks about how money can make people lose their morals and do unethical things just for the money. Experiments were also done in order to prove that our morals slip away when money enters the picture.

Gino, Francesca, and Mogilner, Cassie. "Time, Money, and Morality." Psychological Science 25.2 (2014): n. pag. Web. 28 October 2014.

Source 2: This article talks about how money can only satisfy you to a certain extent. It can help fulfill some minor needs that people have but it doesn't do anything significant. 

Wang, Long, and J.K. Murnighan. "Money, Emotions, and Ethics Across Individuals and Countries." Journal of Business Ethics 125.1 (2014): 163-176. Web.  28 October 2014.

Source 3: This article brings to light the idea that money can benefit people. It can be a sign that the person is intelligent and worked hard for their money. However, this article then goes into the fact that wealthy individuals are not only successful but also generally more cold-hearted and bitter.

Diener, Ed. "Will money increase subjective well-being?" Social Indicators Research 57.2 (2002): 119-169. Web. 28 October 2014.

Topic Proposal

I've been wrestling around with different ideas that I want to research. I want to explore the idea that Americans are obsessed with money and that is what most Americans live for. This topic isn't fully developed but I think I can eventually make it into something.

1.Who taught you that money matters?
2. Does the media have an impact on why you strive to be rich?
3. What makes someone "rich"?
4. Is there something that is more important than money? Love?
5. How many Americans base their careers off of income versus doing something they love?
6. Would having all the money in the world make you genuinely happy?
7. What actually makes you happy?
8. In the long run, what matters the most?
9. Once you have all the money you want, then what?
10. Does wanting lots of money have to do with confidence, insecurities, and how you come across to others?

Public Health Advocate-Walter Willett

Growing up around a dairy farm, Walter Willett has been around the food business his whole life. He also was surrounded by biology. His father did the first ova transplant in a human. Willett used these influences to go on to medical school and focused on nutrition. He got his M.D. and has devoted his life "to improve public health by improving diets, most often through research"(Powell).  The things we subconsciously know pertaining to good health came from Willett's research. "Don't smoke, exercise regularly, avoid added sugar and processed food"(Powell). I strongly agree to these unwritten rules about living healthy. I admire the fact that there is someone that researches about public health so that we can better ourselves. The question and answer section of this articles allows for us to hear everything directly from Willett himself. I think it really helped give background information and to see where Willett came from. It is evident he is very successful in his research.