Neuroscience Says The Wealthier & More Successful Someone Gets, The Worse They Get At This One Basic Thing
fizkes / Shutterstock Wealth and success are often seen as signs of discipline, intelligence, and strong leadership skills. While all these things may still be true, science suggests that having money and power can actually change how your brain works.
According to recent research, successful people can be less attuned to the emotions and struggles of others. It's not about their moral character, but about the environments they live in, which can gradually change how the brain responds to social cues.
People who are more wealthy and successful have significant differences in brain structure.
A large 2025 study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, analyzed both genetic data and brain scans from over 35,000 UK Biobank participants. Using a genetic technique that examines cause and effect, the researchers discovered measurable differences in the white-matter networks of people of higher socioeconomic status.
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These individuals were found to have fewer white matter lesions, spots that indicate damage to myelin or nerve fibers. White matter nerve fibers are responsible for essential communication that enables cognitive processes, movement, and sensory processing.
While having some age-related spots is normal, others can be associated with chronic vascular disease, cognitive decline, and neuroinflammatory conditions. However, the researchers speculate that this may also affect how people with differing socioeconomic statuses process information, and, therefore, how they react.
Social standing may influence how people perceive and interpret the world around them.
Elizabeth Mateer, PhD, a neuropsychology fellow at Harvard Medical School, explained, “This study reinforces a broader point: social position is biologically embedded. If that’s true, then sustained power — like sustained deprivation — could gradually shape how the brain processes the social world, including how much weight it gives to other people’s inner lives."
The study did not specifically measure levels of empathy, but the researchers suggest that it could still be connected. Mateer said, "It’s that when someone holds extreme power, it can affect how often and automatically they engage [empathy]."
When an individual faces fewer social consequences, the brain is less likely to pick up on certain social cues. It's not a learned behavior or choice, but rather a neurocognitive tendency that can distort judgment.
Existing research confirms that powerful people may live in a different reality in their minds.
Interest in the effects of power on the human mind has circulated the field for years. Another series of studies, led by psychologist Paul Piff at the University of California, Berkeley, revealed that drivers of expensive cars were more likely to ignore pedestrians at crosswalks, and in lab experiments, wealthier participants were more willing to bend rules or hoard resources.
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"The neuroscience is pretty uncomfortable,” said organizational psychologist Shonna Waters, PhD. “People in positions of power show reduced activity in mirror neuron systems, the circuitry responsible for empathy and perspective-taking."
People with higher social standing have more positive experiences in their innate environment. It's normal to encounter fewer hardships and have conflicts resolved more easily. Waters added, "When people say these elites live in a different world, it’s neurologically accurate. Power filters signals."
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
