Does Status Matter More Than Money?

Business Insider highlights a study that says yes. In it, a group of students were asked whether they’d like to make $50,000 or $100,000 a year. But there was a catch…

Seems like a no-brainer right? Everyone should take option B. But there was one catch. In option A, the students would get paid twice as much as others, who would only get $25,000. In option B, they would get paid half as much as others, who would get $200,000. So option B would make the students more money overall, but they would be doing worse than others around them.

The majority opted to do better than others instead of making more. The study’s a few years old, but was cited to reinforce the point behind a new book about social currency.