Money & Materialism
Money as tool, money as drug: The biological
psychology of a strong incentive – Lea & Webley
Two ways in which money is a motivator:
1. Used as a tool/instrumentally to obtain biological relevant
incentives.
2. Imitate the action of natural incentives
Conclusions:
A purely Tool Theory view of money motivation cannot explain all
observed phenomena.
Adding Drug Theory helps make sense of the things Tool Theory
can’t explain.
According to Drug Theory, money taps into basic human instincts
such as trading (linked to reciprocal altruism) and object play.
A biological explanation of behaviour (like the motivation for money)
uses evolutionary reasoning: people do things either because (a) it gives a
selective advantage now, (b) it gave such an advantage in the past, or (c)
it’s a by-product of another adaptive tendency. Importantly, this doesn’t
mean behaviour if fixed or purely innate – human instincts always interact
with culture and society. For example, the instinct (finding a mate) is
universal, but the way it plays out is shaped by cultural rules and
traditions (e.g. arranged marriages or not).
Examples:
a. Washing your hands
b. Fear of snakes
c. Reading (we evolved big brains and language skills)
Money is studied here in its literal sense (coins, credit, etc.), not as a
metaphor for property or possessions.
Money counts as ‘money’ if it functions as a:
o Medium of exchange you can use it to trade for goods and
services.
o Unit of account it provides a standard way to measure
value.
o And store of value it keeps its value over time so you can
save it and spend it later.
Money motivates people like basic drives (e.g. food or sex). Specifically:
a) Incentive people are more likely to do actions that can earn
them money.
b) Reinforcer people are more likely to repeat actions that
previously gave them money.
,Most strong human motivations are easy to explain from a biological
perspective because they have two key features:
1. Adaptiveness they guide people toward or away from things
that matter for survival or reproduction (e.g. hunger, sex, social
connections).
2. Darwinian continuity similar or related motives exist in other
animals, although in humans they can be more complex and shaped
by culture.
Money motivation is different:
- It doesn’t directly help survival or reproduction.
- There’s no obvious equivalent in other animals.
- Money is too recent in human history to have led to genetic
adaption.
- Culture strongly influences how we use money, but it’s unclear
whether there’s any underlying biological drive.
Question the article tries to answer:
Is there a biological reason why money is such a powerful incentive?
Tool Theory
Money as a rational, instrumental medium of exchange.
Money is an incentive only because it can be exchanged for goods
and services, which are the real incentives (and those have clear
evolutionary roots).
o It is a means to an end, not a motivator on its own.
We do not need the psychology of money – only an understanding of
how people use it as an instrument.
Drug Theory
Money has psychological/emotional effects beyond instrumental
value.
Money is a functionless motivator that triggers our motivational
systems without being directly biologically useful.
Money is a kind of ‘psychological drug’ – it can trigger our brain’s
reward systems by mimicking natural incentives.
o Money can ‘act like’ natural incentives at a cognitive level.
o Brain imaging studies money activates specific brain areas,
and immediate monetary incentives stimulate parts of the
brain that are associated with immediate reward, not delated
reward.
This helps explain why money can feel addictive, give immediate
satisfaction, and sometimes lead to harmful behaviour.
Theories of money
The economic theory of money
- Money has three primary functions: it is a medium of exchange, a
unit of account and a store of value.
, - Two main types of money (that distinguish between how value is
established):
o Commodity/metalist model backed by a real, desirable
substance (like gold or silver).
The value comes from the biological aspect of the
underlying commodity. This is an example of Drug
Theory.
o Fiat/chartalist money value comes from government
declaration, accepted by society as legal tender. Tool
Theory.
Psychological theories of money
Depth psychology (Freud): money interest stems from early
childhood development. Interest in collecting or controlling coins
reflects the same drives that were active during toilet training
(pleasure and control) Drug Theory.
Operant psychology (Skinner): money acts as a token that gains
value through association with rewards, so through conditioning and
not logic Drug Theory.
Functional autonomy (Allport): motivation to acquire money can
become self-sustaining, even if it originally came from other basic
drives Drug Theory.
Cognitive development (Piagetians): children gradually learn how
to use money and navigate adult economic systems Tool Theory.
Sociological theories of money
Classic sociology
o Marx: saw money as ‘commodity fetishism,’ where value
becomes detached from the labour that created it Drug
Theory.
Money comes from labour being turned into
commodities, then into money – this causes alienation.
Commodities are treated as if they have their own life
(commodity fetishism).
Money motivation is like an illusion – drug theory.
o Weber: connected money accumulation with the Protestant
ethic of hard work and discipline; sought for its own sake
Drug Theory.
Protestant work ethic = work is good, but spending is
bad.
Result: people save and collect money for its own
sake.
o Simmel: Money turns goods into commodities and can even
become something people desire for its own sake; can be both
a tool and an object of desire both Tool and Drug Theory
elements.
Money creates more impersonal and abstract relations is
society.
Money as tool, money as drug: The biological
psychology of a strong incentive – Lea & Webley
Two ways in which money is a motivator:
1. Used as a tool/instrumentally to obtain biological relevant
incentives.
2. Imitate the action of natural incentives
Conclusions:
A purely Tool Theory view of money motivation cannot explain all
observed phenomena.
Adding Drug Theory helps make sense of the things Tool Theory
can’t explain.
According to Drug Theory, money taps into basic human instincts
such as trading (linked to reciprocal altruism) and object play.
A biological explanation of behaviour (like the motivation for money)
uses evolutionary reasoning: people do things either because (a) it gives a
selective advantage now, (b) it gave such an advantage in the past, or (c)
it’s a by-product of another adaptive tendency. Importantly, this doesn’t
mean behaviour if fixed or purely innate – human instincts always interact
with culture and society. For example, the instinct (finding a mate) is
universal, but the way it plays out is shaped by cultural rules and
traditions (e.g. arranged marriages or not).
Examples:
a. Washing your hands
b. Fear of snakes
c. Reading (we evolved big brains and language skills)
Money is studied here in its literal sense (coins, credit, etc.), not as a
metaphor for property or possessions.
Money counts as ‘money’ if it functions as a:
o Medium of exchange you can use it to trade for goods and
services.
o Unit of account it provides a standard way to measure
value.
o And store of value it keeps its value over time so you can
save it and spend it later.
Money motivates people like basic drives (e.g. food or sex). Specifically:
a) Incentive people are more likely to do actions that can earn
them money.
b) Reinforcer people are more likely to repeat actions that
previously gave them money.
,Most strong human motivations are easy to explain from a biological
perspective because they have two key features:
1. Adaptiveness they guide people toward or away from things
that matter for survival or reproduction (e.g. hunger, sex, social
connections).
2. Darwinian continuity similar or related motives exist in other
animals, although in humans they can be more complex and shaped
by culture.
Money motivation is different:
- It doesn’t directly help survival or reproduction.
- There’s no obvious equivalent in other animals.
- Money is too recent in human history to have led to genetic
adaption.
- Culture strongly influences how we use money, but it’s unclear
whether there’s any underlying biological drive.
Question the article tries to answer:
Is there a biological reason why money is such a powerful incentive?
Tool Theory
Money as a rational, instrumental medium of exchange.
Money is an incentive only because it can be exchanged for goods
and services, which are the real incentives (and those have clear
evolutionary roots).
o It is a means to an end, not a motivator on its own.
We do not need the psychology of money – only an understanding of
how people use it as an instrument.
Drug Theory
Money has psychological/emotional effects beyond instrumental
value.
Money is a functionless motivator that triggers our motivational
systems without being directly biologically useful.
Money is a kind of ‘psychological drug’ – it can trigger our brain’s
reward systems by mimicking natural incentives.
o Money can ‘act like’ natural incentives at a cognitive level.
o Brain imaging studies money activates specific brain areas,
and immediate monetary incentives stimulate parts of the
brain that are associated with immediate reward, not delated
reward.
This helps explain why money can feel addictive, give immediate
satisfaction, and sometimes lead to harmful behaviour.
Theories of money
The economic theory of money
- Money has three primary functions: it is a medium of exchange, a
unit of account and a store of value.
, - Two main types of money (that distinguish between how value is
established):
o Commodity/metalist model backed by a real, desirable
substance (like gold or silver).
The value comes from the biological aspect of the
underlying commodity. This is an example of Drug
Theory.
o Fiat/chartalist money value comes from government
declaration, accepted by society as legal tender. Tool
Theory.
Psychological theories of money
Depth psychology (Freud): money interest stems from early
childhood development. Interest in collecting or controlling coins
reflects the same drives that were active during toilet training
(pleasure and control) Drug Theory.
Operant psychology (Skinner): money acts as a token that gains
value through association with rewards, so through conditioning and
not logic Drug Theory.
Functional autonomy (Allport): motivation to acquire money can
become self-sustaining, even if it originally came from other basic
drives Drug Theory.
Cognitive development (Piagetians): children gradually learn how
to use money and navigate adult economic systems Tool Theory.
Sociological theories of money
Classic sociology
o Marx: saw money as ‘commodity fetishism,’ where value
becomes detached from the labour that created it Drug
Theory.
Money comes from labour being turned into
commodities, then into money – this causes alienation.
Commodities are treated as if they have their own life
(commodity fetishism).
Money motivation is like an illusion – drug theory.
o Weber: connected money accumulation with the Protestant
ethic of hard work and discipline; sought for its own sake
Drug Theory.
Protestant work ethic = work is good, but spending is
bad.
Result: people save and collect money for its own
sake.
o Simmel: Money turns goods into commodities and can even
become something people desire for its own sake; can be both
a tool and an object of desire both Tool and Drug Theory
elements.
Money creates more impersonal and abstract relations is
society.
