(STUDY FINDS) — WASHINGTON — They say nice guys finish last when it comes to dating, but that might not be the only time that it hurts to lack some edge. A new study finds that nice people may be more likely to struggle financially — even to the point of bankruptcy — than those who are less thoughtful.
Researchers from the Columbia Business School and University College London School of Management say that kinder individuals are more prone to financial hardships because money simply isn’t as important to them.
“We were interested in understanding whether having a nice and warm personality — what academics in personality research describe as agreeableness — was related to negative financial outcomes,” explains lead author Sandra Matz, an assistant professor of business management at Columbia, in a statement to the American Psychological Association. “Previous research suggested that agreeableness was associated with lower credit scores and income. We wanted to see if that association held true for other financial indicators and, if so, better understand why nice guys seem to finish last.”
