I like the Seven Deadly Sins.
I mean, I don’t like the idea of engaging in them, but, as a psychologist, the 7 Deadly Sins are valuable for analytic writing and self-awareness.“Sin(s,ing)” can be useful at times to see, experience, and engage in. Useful in the sense that “Sin” is a part of living. We all do it, so what is it like to sin? Sin is also a requirement for “repentance” and people view repentance as an ultimate learning tool, so, Would we lose “repentance” if we lost sin?
Sin is frequently attached to “pleasure” although Pleasure, in itself, is not a sin.
I’ll probably take up the idea of “sin” in another entry.
The fact is, these are loaded words that are here to stay. “Sin”, and the “the 7 deadly sins”, in all of its variations is useful if only for awareness building and psyche-understanding.
I underscore these aspects of understanding because I don’t buy into the simplistic and narrow admonition to “Do Good and Shun Evil.” Once again, this is a problematic statement that has caused substantial psychological damage for some. In my view, religion, in coopting these phrases, has clouded their full meaning; their usefulness and value. Sin has blocked many innocent pleasures in living. I am not a Stoic, although Stoicism as a way of living deserves an entry in this blog as well.
Be that as it may (the above is my view only), The Seven Deadly Sins is an intriguing ideology in its own right. Each of the Seven “sins”: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath; capture a specific emotional state.
People know what it feels like to “Envy”. In an earlier entry I explore the Envy feeling state.
In this entry I explore: GREED
Greed, is defined (Webster-Miriam Dictionary) as: “A selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed.”
Greed is a single-minded, but complex intrapsychic state attached to the perceived feeling of need. In this case, a distinction between need and want in the Greedy person is often blurred. Therefore, Greed, is a kind of psychopathology even though - as I will describe - Greed -, it is frequently and indirectly associated with social progress especially in our Western World (Capitalistic economies).
Example of Complexity: “I’m a Capitalist by birth and disposition and behavior, but I don’t see myself as a particularly greedy person.”
The dictionary definition of Greed is functionally correct, but, unfortunately, it is loaded with implications and nuances. For example.
What does the word: “selfish” mean?
What does it mean to “need” something versus want something?
How does one judge what is “more of something than is needed.”
The American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary does not specifically define “Greed” (I suppose, the dictionary definition is presumed by APA to be sufficient), but the APA Dictionary does address corollary words such as:
Need: 1. a condition of tension in an organism resulting from deprivation of something required for survival, well-being, or personal fulfillment. 2. …a substance, state, or any other thing (e.g., food, water, security) whose absence generates this condition (e g., of need).
The Bible doesn’t specifically define “Greed” either. But the term, “greed” (and variations/translations of this word) does appear in its pages.
Example: The Greek word for “Greed” is Pleonexia which is defined as: “the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.”
Is Greed? The insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others?
This sounds more like thievery. But, then again, how different is greed from thievery?
One of many many visible Biblical commentators, John Ritenbaugh, who has studied the biblical/Christian connections to greed, describes greed as:…a “ruthless self–seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one's own benefit.”
In a focal review article about “dispositional greed”: Zeelenberg et al. (2022). The good, bad, ugly of dispositional greed, Current Opinion in Psychology, 46, 10323…
…introduces their ideas of dispositional greed as follows:
Greed is about getting more of what you want. …an insatiable desire for more income, more possessions, more influence, more power, more sex, more privileges, more of anything good. Greed is a strong drive for acquisitiveness with respect to valued outcomes. What can be bad about that?…greed is considered…motivation behind economic growth… some praise greed indirectly for its…consequences: “Capitalism has been called a system of greed…that raised the standard of living of its poorest citizens…despite these perceived benefits, greed is typically not applauded.
Why?
…because it [greed] may inflict harm to others…“individual greed benefits one person at the expense of other”…Greed is part of human nature and most people can be greedy to some extent…Greed is a normally distributed trait…most people [are]… in a position of intermediate greed…on the high end of the distribution…[greed]…impact[s] the well-being of others…by hoarding resources…[greedy] others cannot use[,] or by showing socially and environmentally unsustainable behaviors.
Is there anyone you know who might have Greedy dispositional orientation?
Below is the Dispositional Greed Scale. The DGS consists of seven items that measure your propensity towards “Greediness”. This is a very straight-forward scale, so it’s easy to fake whether you are greedy or not. There are other, more subtle scales, but in this entry I’m attempting to get to the point.
Rate yourself on a scale of 1-5, with 1 meaning you strongly disagree and 5 meaning you strongly agree:
I always want more.
One can never have too much money.
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
As soon as I have acquired something, I start to think about the next thing I want.
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
It doesn’t matter how much I have. I’m never completely satisfied.
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
My life motto is “more is better.”
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
I can’t imagine having too many things.
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
Actually, I’m kind of greedy
1 Strongly Disagree/ 2 Disagree/ 3 Neutral/ 4 Agree/ 5 Strongly Agree
Sum your answers to the seven questions, divide the Sum by 7, get your Mean DGS score. In a sample of 6,092 American and Dutch participants, psychologist Terri Seuntjens found that people scored an average of 3.87 across these seven questions.
How do you compare? and What does it means to score high or low (higher or lower than you expected) on the DGS?
The seven items of the DGS were analyzed using a sample of 1300 adult participants. The mean score in this particular sample of adults was slightly below the midpoint of the scale (MDGS = 2.49, SD = 0.88; α = .86).
The DGS varies from individual to individual, group to group, context to context, community to community, nation to nation. But, where it doesn’t vary is when you give it to the same person, say five or six times, over a several year time interval.
The Consequences of Greed
Can you imagine a world where all of the people in it scored on the DGS above 4 for all seven items (a score of 28)? What kind of world would this be?
Right? It would be a Darwinian, Capitalistic, “Dog eat Dog” world where survival of the fittest (not necessarily the greediest, because “greed out of control” is self destructive.) rules.
We all know that Greed out of control in a society is bad, Marvel movies are frequently based on this idea. Still, we promote some of the greediest people in our society through our political and social processes to the highest positions of authority, influence, and power. We revere these people, at least some of us do. Think of our current Presidential Political Environment. We look up to certain forms of Greed and we count on it to power our Capitalistic economy. This is a fact, you will become more aware of this, like I have, if you study deeply the early philosophical and economic roots of Capitalism.
What are the consequences of Greed on the Greedy Person?
This is a difficult and more nuanced question.
On the one hand, a super greedy, and not totally naïve individual, will likely learn how to mass substantial personal resources; namely, money and financial assets. This is especially true if the person was wealthy to start with. These resources can then pay for all kinds of benefits and privileges, like Concierge Medicine (where you pay a monthly/yearly fee and get all the top-medical care you need for any condition you might have, quickly and comprehensively until you are better) irrespective of what the rest of society has available. One client, for example, said to me:
“Dr. Hill, your work is excellent, I’m feeling better, more in control, have a better outlook. How about I pay you double your hourly rate if you will see me three times per week.” Of course, I can’t even conceive of doing something like this. It is counter to my value system as a person and a therapist, and counter to my professional ethics, and the American Psychological Ethics guidelines. I nicely, declined, but kept seeing him weekly for the standard therapy rate which is the same as it is for everyone else. This individual was gracious, although it didn’t match his world view. Perhaps he had respect for me for standing up for my own values and ethical standards, perhaps he thought I was dumb for passing up such an offer. He never said which it was or if it was neither. Still, it underscores how different people think about resources and tapping resources when one has their own substantial resources.
On the other hand, Greed can be a manifestation of an undercurrent of intrapersonal tumult and misery. There is nothing more difficult to personally endure than an ever present, and pressing (perceived) need that never goes away and only gets stronger the more of the thing you desire you get. We’ve all have heard stories about this kind of person. We can all relate to the, Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens. A greedy (ultimately miserable) man who experienced a full-out conversion based on a series of night-time events which occurred around Christmas. (By the way, I have some deeper thoughts about the nature of conversion as a paradigm shift. See my blog entry on the Paradigm Shift
I return to Zeelenberg (The Good, bad and ugly of dispositional greed.)
“To conclude, greed, the insatiable desire to acquire more, is a normally distributed trait in the population…There are good, bad and ugly sides…
good in the sense that greedy individuals tend to work harder, have more sexual partners and enjoy higher family incomes, which may trickle down to others;
bad in the sense that greedy individuals tend to harm others by taking more of a scarce good, by being tempted more by immoral behaviors and by being more corrupt;
ugly in the sense that greedy individuals tend to be less happy and less satisfied with life, distrusting other people more and being more envious.
A large-scale survey among 20,000 Dutch employees found that dispositional greed (disposition=a person's inherent qualities of mind and character) was higher for people:
working in extractive industries, real estate, banking and insurance…
taking economics education courses…
of good economic situation in childhood…
who grow up rich…”
I am interested in learning your view of Greed. Does what I’m describing here fit with your sense of the (good, bad, and ugly) of greed?
Interesting article and research. I'd suggest that people who advocate "greed" as the natural disposition of people and society (specifically the "Darwinian, Capitalistic, 'Dog eat Dog' world where survival of the fittest" rules ) actually are just rationalizing their behavior - either to ease a guilty conscience or to get others to buy into a world where advocates of greed-as-natural benefit.