Factors associated with the perception of greed

Greed refers to an excessive and insatiable desire for more and is associated with self-interested and objectionable behaviors. The literature examining the perception of greed in others is sparse and often conceptual. We identified five factors that might relate to greed perception: acquisitiveness, intentionality, immorality, injustice, and harm-to-others. In a series of three studies we investigated the empirical relationship of these factors with everyday interpersonal greed perception. Study 1 asked people to recall times when they perceived someone being greedy. Study 2 asked for recalls of both mild and excessive greedy acts. Study 3 manipulated harm-to-others in a vignette study. In all studies we assessed these five factors and related them to the perception of greed. This research finds a consistent pattern in which the perception of everyday greed is most strongly associated with judgements of acquisitiveness and intentionality, less with judgements of immorality and injustice, and least with judgments of harm-to-others. We discuss academic and social implications of these findings.