'Wall Street Bailout' - And Mental impact on common persons

Global financial market is seriously effected after 'Wall Street Bailout' news. But the impact of this financial situation is really important to know. It is obvious that money or finance matters directly effect our mental health and behaviour and there is a clear impact shown among common person which is insecure feeling.

According to Kathleen Vohs, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota. Her studies predict that the ongoing financial shrinkage will "cause problems for interpersonal relationships," she says. "Our theory would say that when people are frequently reminded of money, they will be less socially sensitive, maybe even malicious. We'll see more arguments at home, more disagreements on the street, people acting more rudely. But there will also be an emphasis on 'What am I going to do about me?' which can be beneficial."

In a series of experiments, Vohs found that having money on the back of your mind could make you (in Why-Files words) a bit nutty. At least it changes your behavior, for better or worse, away from dependency and toward self-sufficiency.

In 2006 (see #1 in the bibliography), Vohs reported on a series of experiments that used a psychological technique called "priming" to test the mental effects of money. These studies compared subjects who were exposed to the idea of money to others who were not. The exposure, or priming, occurred through solving word games that included financial terms, noticing play money or photos of money, or hearing a story about money.

Money: Root of pain?
Although the subject of money is painful to many people right now, Vohs and colleagues Xinyue Zhou and Roy Baumeister have found that priming with money allows someone to withstand more physical pain, as measured by their tolerance for hot water. This tolerance for pain declined, however, after the subjects were reminded of how much they have recently spent. In the same experiments, counting currency owned by the experimenters reduced the pain of social rejection, but the pain got more intense after being reminded about their spending.

These results suggest "People would be feeling more pain," during the current meltdown, Vohs says.

The possibility that thoughts -- whether conscious or not -- about money can change behavior and attitudes has implications for tax and welfare policy, Vohs maintains. "The more the emphasis on money, I'd predict, the less people will endorse actions that take care of other people." Vohs has embarked on a study of how reminders about money will influence approval of the McCain and Obama tax plans.

Source: The why files

More reports:

* U.S News: Analysis: Washington's Trillion Dollar Wall Street Bailout

* Msnbc news: Impact of Wall Street bailout becoming clearer

* The Impact of the Wall Street Bailout on Bank Deposit Insurance

* How Voters See the Bailout