I want you to close your eyes for a moment and picture something.

Imagine a person who is a liar and a cheater. Perhaps you play a board game with them and they lie about their score. Then, maybe they steal a few beers from your fridge and claim to have only taken a single one.

Are you getting a mental image? Who is this person? What do they look like? What are they wearing?

Let’s go on. This same person also cuts off people in traffic. And we’re not just talking about cutting off other drivers — we’re talking about pedestrians, too! This person doesn’t yield for anyone who is waiting to use the crosswalk.

Who IS this lying, cheating, pedestrian-ignoring person? Seriously — what kind of person did you picture in your mind? Did you concoct any backstory for this person? What is their family like? What is their job like? Do they make a lot of money? Do they make very little money?

Re-read those last two questions and make a prediction: would the liar be rich or would the liar be poor?

In this week’s video podcast, we’ll find out which socioeconomic class is actually more likely to lie, cheat, and cut people off in traffic — and we’ll explain why! Check out the video below and be sure to comment if your prediction was right on target.

You can check out the below links for additional details on this week’s stories:

• News: Upper Class More Likely to Be Scofflaws
• News: Stress Changes How People Make Decisions
• News: Lack of Sleep, Stress Leads to Inflammation in Older Adults
• Blog: Increase Your Happiness with Daily Challenge
• Facebook: Psych Central Fan Page

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 3 Mar 2012
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.