Project Title: Who Wants to be a Billionaire? The Psychology of Wealth, Socioeconomic Inequality, and Attitudes towards a Billionaire's Tax
BASIS Advisor: Dr. Hight
Internship Location: The University of Maryland, Decision, Attention, and Memory Lab
Onsite Mentor: Dr. David A. Illingworth and Michael Dougherty
The three wealthiest American billionaires (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates) own more collective wealth than the entire bottom 50% of Americans combined. This staggering statistic leaves you wondering: how did this immense inequality come to be, and, more surprisingly, why do so many Americans think it’s just? This project intends to use the psychology of wealth to understand fundamental differences between the uber-wealthy and the other 99.9%. It looks into both the conscious logic and unconscious motivations that drive the actions of the wealthy regarding spending and taxes, as well as how individuals of lower socioeconomic status differ in such patterns. To supplement my review of past research, I will also participate in a research internship at the University of Maryland’s Decision, Attention, and Memory (DAM) Lab, allowing me to develop practical research skills in the fields of behavioral science, psychology, and neuroscience. Together, these research experiences will help me answer the following questions: In what ways and to what extent are there psychological and cognitive bases for differences in attitudes toward money and loss among the uber-wealthy when compared to Americans of lower socioeconomic status? And: What are the potential policy implications that may arise from a better understanding of the psychology of wealth, for instance on suggestions such as the “Billionaires’ Tax”?
My Posts
Week 10
May 25, 2022
I can’t believe it’s the last week already! My time in the DAM lab this week was pretty routine on Monday and Tuesday, but was quieter than usual because all of the undergraduates were out for final exams. Wednesday was not only my last day, but also the last day for two other researchers in […]
Week 9
May 17, 2022
Luckily, I was feeling much better this week and was able to return to the DAM Lab in-person. On Monday and Tuesday I continued to shadow David in his meetings and spend some times with the other undergraduate RAs as they ended classes and prepared for finals. In my spare time in the lab, I […]
Week 8
May 09, 2022
Unfortunately, I had COVID this week, so was unable to go in-person to the DAM lab. As a result, I didn’t have much to do, so spent some time catching up on some reading for my independent project and starting outlining for my final paper. Throughout my research and discussion with members of the lab […]
Week 7
May 01, 2022
On Monday, I had the opportunity to present in and attend the University of Maryland Department of Psychology Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. It was a great opportunity to practice presentation skills, but also to observe more experienced researchers in action. I presented alongside two other undergraduate research assistants in the lab, so we were able […]
Week 6
Apr 17, 2022
Working in a Psychology lab has given me many insights into the challenges that the field has faced in the past. This week, during a presentation I was giving to the lab, I was reminded of one such difficulty: The Replicability Crisis. On Wednesday, I presented a summary of a psychological study to the rest […]
Week 5
Apr 10, 2022
This week was pretty low-key around the lab, so I spent most of my time continuing to observe the activities and talk with other lab members. On Tuesday I sat in on the weekly talk from a researcher from the department in Cognition and Neuroscience. This week’s speaker gave an overview of his work looking […]
Week 4
Apr 03, 2022
Hello! This week, I want to discuss an aspect of my internship that I haven’t explored yet in my blogs. In addition to observing and participating in the day-to-day activity of the lab, being in-person at the University of Maryland campus has allowed me to get a better understanding of college life. In the past […]
Week 3
Mar 27, 2022
The University of Maryland’s spring break was this week, so I was unable to come in-person to the DAM Lab for my internship. Instead, I spent my time at home reading a set of articles and studies that David curated for me, this week moving on from Aspiration Theory to Query Theory. Query theory emphasizes […]
Week 2
Mar 19, 2022
This week, I spent most of my time in the lab shadowing my mentor during meetings and continuing to read about decision-making and risk theories, now focusing on Lola Lopes’s Aspiration Theory. On Tuesday, I sat in on a meeting between David and the lab’s principal investigator during which they discussed a current project they […]
Week 1: Getting Started in the Lab
Mar 13, 2022
This week was my first week in-person at the University of Maryland’s Decision, Attention, and Memory (DAM) Lab. On Monday, I met with my on-site mentor, Dr. David Illingworth, a post-doc working in the lab. After a brief tour of the campus and lab, we started by looking over some of David’s previous and current […]
Who Wants to Be a Billionaire: Introduction
Mar 06, 2022
My name is Sophie Poellnitz and my project intends to use the psychology of wealth to understand fundamental differences between the uber-wealthy and the other 99.9%. It will look into both the conscious logic and unconscious motivations that drive the actions of the wealthy regarding spending and taxes, as well as how individuals of lower […]