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Social experiment shows more than half of us would reject the offer of free money

A cashback website conducted the experiment finding that 55% of people approached rejected up to £50 of free money

Ryan Ramgobin
Thursday 20 August 2015 09:31 BST
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Would you accept free cash?
Would you accept free cash?

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What would you do if a stranger offered you money in the street? A recent social experiment suggests that you’d keep on walking; or as the video below shows on one occasion, run away.

Watch the social experiment here.

The experiment took place on the streets of London, Brighton and Manchester with a total of 600 people approached. Londoners were the most likely to turn down free money with three out of ten people accepting the offer. 40% of Mancunians pocketed the cash, while on the south coast 65% of Brightonians accepted the offer.

Breaking down the figures in terms of sex and age – women were slightly more inclined to accept the money than men (52% versus 48%); while those aged between 18 and 30 years old accounted for 70% of those who took the money.

Maybe we’re now less of a nation that believes cash rules everything around us; and now more carefree

The social experiment was conducted by TopCashback.

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