Bottle shoesYesterday MSN Money published an article on the results of a psychological study I found extremely interesting, “Does Money Make You Mean“? from Bankrate.com. Over the course of nine experiments, the study found that “folks with money on their minds are less helpful, less considerate and less willing to ask for assistance or engage with others than those who have not been ‘preconditioned’ to money.”

One of the authors of the study, Kathleen Vohs, said, “Money may not be the root of all evil, but it might be the root of some indifference,” she says. “It does make you perhaps indifferent to others.”

“We didn’t find any animosity; it was more of a sense of social cluelessness. They’re not mindful of other people. We don’t have any indication that they were being rude to these people. It was more ‘I can’t help you’ or ‘I don’t know how to help you.’ Granted, being helpful would be a nicer thing to do, but the intention wasn’t to be selfish or mean; they just didn’t see that they had a role in this person’s life.”

Another fascinating tidbit I found online is research that shows the poor among us tend to be the most generous in charity, at least in terms of percentage of their income and assets. The very wealthy are behind them, giving a lot of money but a smaller percentage of their assets. The middle class are the least generous of all.

Does this mean that as you become more aware of money, you become less willing to part with it?

This question, of course, comes directly back to us, the readers and contributors of Queercents. If you’re reading this blog, then chances are you’re interested in frugal living and financial freedom. Meaning, in the terms of the study, we are “folks with money on their minds.”

So let me ask you: have you found that paying closer attention to your finances makes you less attentive to the needs of others? As you focus on your own financial health, using John’s nifty thermometer (which I love, by the way), are you becoming clueless to anyone’s situation other than your own?

Before you are too quick to answer, let me ask a different way: how does your charitable giving compare to last year, or 10 years ago? When a person (or an organization) asks you for money, do you give it to them? Why or why not?