This study is fascinating. The research doesn't surprise me.

"...people primed to think of themselves as well-off were worse at reading other people's emotions than people primed to think of themselves as poor."

This is so true, in my limited empirical experience, and there is something going on in the pysche were people with power and wealth tend to become more self-involved self-obsessed and put less effort into reading others emotional states. When one is rich they can afford to act rude, smug and treat others badly. Their messed up values tell them that they are superior because of their status/wealth. If you question many of these people the attitudes they share on those "beneath them" are are the same as during Victorian times where the poor and assumed to be immoral, lazy, unintelligent and even deserve their lot in the life. Social darwinism is evil and treats people as things to be exploited for our own selfish gain. This dovetails in with odious Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism where each person is told to look out for themselves and that they have a naturalistic imperative which lets them off the hook morally! Disgusting.