When it comes to judging someone’s trustworthiness, most people believe their perceptions are shaped by personal experiences or intuition. Surely we’re able to bypass economic status and assess people’s true character, right? Well… not really.

A new study led by social psychologist Mélusine Boon-Falleur reveals a different influence: the perception of trustworthiness is significantly affected by a person’s apparent wealth. The research, conducted across eight culturally diverse countries, found that people consistently perceive wealthier individuals as more trustworthy than their less affluent counterparts, regardless of cultural background.

Pervasive stereotypes

Visual features (such as race, for instance) can often lead to the formation of stereotypes. However, previous research has shown that affluence may be even more important than race.

“This study was inspired by previous work by Oliver Sng,” Boon-Falleur tells ZME Science, “where he explored the effect of people’s ecology — a favorable or harsh environment — in shaping stereotypes. He found that such information can override stereotypes about race. This sparked my interest and led me to explore the effect of wealth on perceived trustworthiness.”

They study was conducted in countries as varied as Brazil, India, Nigeria, France, the UK, and the Philippines, among others. Surprisingly, despite the vast cultural differences, the results were consistent. Participants across all these nations were more likely to perceive inhabitants of wealthier households as trustworthy.

Participants were shown a single image of a living room and asked to imagine the person living there based solely on what they saw. The images were carefully curated from the Dollar Street Database, which documents the living conditions of people around the world based on their income. By asking participants to rate the imagined inhabitant’s trustworthiness without explicitly linking the study to wealth, the researchers ensured that responses were more reflective of subconscious biases.

How big is your bias?

This approach allowed researchers to assess people’s actual perceptions of trustworthiness without them realizing that wealth was a variable of interest. If participants had realized what the study was actually investigating, other biases might have kicked in and changed the answers.

“If one asks directly about people’s perception of others, there is a high chance that people will not give a genuine answer, even if they are unaware that they are lying,” the researcher explained in an email.

Researchers expected this type of stereotype to be prevalent, but it was surprising to see just how consistent across different cultures it was.

“The fact that we find such consistent results across a very diverse range of countries suggests that these stereotypes are not the product of cultural constructions but rather the product of universal features of people’s affordance management. Although we had suspected that these stereotypes may be universal, we were quite surprised to find them so consistently present across cultures,” Boon-Falleur tells ZME Science

Important biases in our society

These findings have profound implications for addressing socioeconomic discrimination. The stereotype that wealth and trustworthiness go hand in hand could be influencing decisions in hiring, promotions, and even social policies without people being consciously aware of it.

“There are several ways that these results are socially relevant,” says Boon-Falleur. “In the same way that companies and organizations in general must make an effort to limit discrimination against women or people of color, these institutions must also recognize that they may discriminate against people with fewer resources and thus implement programs to address this.”

A particularly interesting result of the study is that individuals with fewer resources themselves also perceive wealthier individuals as more trustworthy. This means that this stereotype is not simply about trusting more individuals who have similar lifestyles as your own. 

The study did not analyze why exactly these biases appear, but Boon-Falleur has a few ideas.

“First, it may be that these trustworthiness stereotypes are part of a general halo effect towards richer individuals. People may be more motivated to affiliate with richer individuals and therefore perceive them to be more competent and more trustworthy in general. Another hypothesis is individuals living in situations of deprivation are more short term oriented, as demonstrated by a large empirical literature. People may perceive short term oriented individuals are less trustworthy because they favor immediate needs over long term ones.”

Overcoming the bias

Ultimately, the study emphasizes that overcoming such deeply ingrained stereotypes requires a collective effort. Boon-Falleur argues that acknowledging this bias is the first and most crucial step.

“The most important element is for individuals to recognize this bias, say the researchers. “The responsibility to overcome these biases is collective. However, individuals can voice these biases and work together to implement programs aimed at reducing discrimination.

For now, Boon-Falleur and her team have laid the groundwork for a new understanding of how socioeconomic factors shape our perceptions of others, even in ways we might not consciously recognize. As societies become more aware of these biases, the hope is that this research will spur changes in how we judge and treat one another, moving us closer to a world where trust is based on character rather than class.

Journal Reference: HouseholdWealth is Associated With Perceived Trustworthiness in a Diverse Set of Countries, Social Psychological and Personality Science (2024). DOI: 10.1177/19485506241289461