Are You Nicer to Nice People?

Question

Are You Nicer to Nice People?

Are you equally nice to everyone you know or are you nicer to some people than to others? If the latter, do you know why? One way to state that you are nicer to some people than to others is the economic way: The quantity supplied of niceness (by you to others) is not the same for all people; it is greater for some than others.

The law of supply states that the quantity supplied of a good and its price are directly related. Is the quantity supplied of your niceness directly related to the price you receive to be nice? This prompts us to ask: What is the price you receive to be nice? In what “currency” are you paid to be nice? In most cases, you are not paid in dollars; the “currency” in which you are paid may be, as odd as it sounds, niceness itself. Suppose there are two “prices” of niceness, P1 and P2, where P1 equals “somewhat nice” and P2 equals “very nice.” Just as the sellers of a good prefer a higher dollar price to a lower dollar price, ceteris paribus, the suppliers of niceness may prefer to receive more for the niceness they supply instead of less. At which price received, P1 or P2, are you likely to be nicer? If your answer is P2, the higher price, then you are admitting that as the price of niceness rises, from P1 to P2, the quantity supplied of your niceness (to others) rises. In other words, you have an upward-sloping supply curve of niceness. As an afterthought, if other people act the same way that you do, that is , if everyone has an upward-sloping supply curve of niceness, then the way to get other people to be nicer to you is to be nicer to them.

The economist knows that some people are nicer than other people, but even nice people aren’t equally nice to everyone. What makes even nice people nicer to some people than to others? It may have to do with what they are paid (by others) in the currency niceness. In other words, the more niceness they are paid to be nice, the nicer they are; the less niceness they are paid to be nice, they less nice they are.

Source: Roger A Arnold 2001, Economics.

Questions:
1. What does it mean if a person’s supply curve of niceness is vertical?
2. Some people are nicer than other people at all prices of niceness. How would you diagrammatically represent this fact?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

It's a bad idea to compare basic economic principals to people. It would be smarter to read psychology studies for the answer. Supply and demand are logical, the human mind, very irrational.

Answer 3

Well, I am just going to answer the question. I saw the long line of commentary and it kind of scares me. (so, I didn't read it)

Yes, I am nicer to nice people. I work with the public every day. It is so much easier dealing with pleasant people. With grumpy, rude and generally unpleasant people, I try to help them with what they want and hope they leave asap.

Answer 4

Okay Alex P. Keaton

Answer 5

When people is nice to me I would return with niceness .It is a reciprocity.

Answer 6

I guess....