The inflationary nature of money is heavily tied into our subconscious experience of it.  If you ask the same question , but about <i>things</i> rather than dollars, people will make the rational choice.<p>&quot;Would you rather have a yacht if your neighbor has two yachts, or a dingy, and your neighbor doesn&#x27;t have a boat?&quot;  Everyone will answer yachts, because yachts aren&#x27;t subconsciously inflationary.<p>&quot;Would you rather have ten books and your neighbor has fifteen, or five books and your neighbor has three?&quot;<p>&quot;Would you rather own three pairs of shoes and your neighbor owns four, or two pairs of shoes and your neighbor owns one?&quot;<p>Also, the very fact they&#x27;re asking the question in a study causes people to answer differently than they would normally -- that&#x27;s the problem with this sort of &#x27;science&#x27; to begin with.<p>It&#x27;s always this sort of Gotcha! science. People are used to that. As a result, most people, when they&#x27;re answering questions in a study are thinking &quot;These are trick questions. I won&#x27;t be a guinea pig. What is the underlying trick here?&quot;<p>---<p>Addendum: The study may also be dealing with a cultural difference in the use of the phrase &quot;your neighbor&quot;.  In the southern Christian tradition &quot;your neighbor&quot; is a catch-all for people that you are not related to (from Mark 12:31).