Does Thinking About Money Make Us Less Happy No Matter How Much We Have?

No. In my set of studies, I found that among those who have little money, thinking about money actually doesn’t change their behavior (presumably because they are already highly focused on and concerned about money). If people who have a lot of money are also highly focused on money, I would suspect that leading them to think about money wouldn’t have an effect either—they’d already be in that monetary mindset. However, if having a lot of money keeps someone from having to think about it, then I would argue that leading them to think about money would influence their behavior and lead to less happiness.

In my work, my argument was not that merely thinking about money makes one more or less happy. Rather, thinking about money will motivate people to behave in particular ways (i.e., work more), and if that comes at the cost of interpersonal connection, that is what can lead to decreased happiness.

Cassie Mogilner is a professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.