>In the first couple of studies, participants read about Joe, who was described as having either a low- or high-paying job. They learned that Joe had won a $200 gift card which he spent on a flat screen TV. They then rated five statements which measured how “permissible” they thought his purchase was (e.g. “He made a responsible purchasing decision” and “He deserves to buy what he did”). Those who read that Joe had a low income rated his purchase as less permissible than those who read that he had a high income, or who were given no information about his income.

I have no right to make a value judgement on how Joe spends his money in this example. However that is what the study asked participants to do. claiming that people scrutinized low income families based on that part of the study is incorrect. They simply tended to look differently on a spending decision to buy a luxury item based on income. Something the study required them to do.

That said if a friend asked me for on advice on how to spend $200 my answer would depend on their financial position. If they had plenty to spend it doesn't really matter how they spend it. If they have very little I might recommend they spend it on a necessity rather than a luxury. That is not a judgement. It is simply the wiser choice. I suspect this could have been why people answered the way they did.