This article suggests a few other questions. How hungry were the monkeys? And would the student volunteers make the same choices if they were in debt and given the option of splitting $20,000 or $40,000, amounts that would potentially change their lives? If I lose $10, I don’t really feel penniless, and my wife will discuss the interesting experiment with me. If I lose $10,000, she’ll undoubtedly have a strong opinion about my behavior. Maybe having a family also influences behavior.

Sanford Sorkin
Upper Montclair, N.J.