Whom Do We Trust More with Our Money: The Banker or the Chimney Sweep? (How Perceptions of Wealth, Social Class and Hard Work Interrelate)

Purpose: This paper investigates the perception of trustworthiness conditional on varying levels of income and social class.

Design/methodology/approach: Students enrolled in an undergraduate university in Florida participated in a survey. The survey responses were subject to a regression analysis to determine the significance of the outcomes.

Findings/results: The respondents identified the wealthy as being slightly more trustworthy, individuals who were equally wealthy and of a lower social class were considered more trustworthy, and hard work was strongly favoured in determining success. Hispanic students were more likely to value hard work, as well as to trust those of equal income and higher social class, than were non-Hispanic students.