The lack of contact between a debtor and creditor has been identified as a big problem in overcoming financial stress and debt. This study aimed to investigate whether inducing control results in...Show moreThe lack of contact between a debtor and creditor has been identified as a big problem in overcoming financial stress and debt. This study aimed to investigate whether inducing control results in greater willingness to contact creditors. Furthermore, financial self-efficacy was investigated as a moderator of this relationship. A total of 134 participants were assigned to either an induced control group or a baseline group. The participants were asked to recall a negative financial experience and were then presented with a fictional letter from an imaginary creditor, urging them to contact the creditor as soon as possible. The creditor letter was left unchanged from a standard creditor letter in the baseline group, while in the control group, the letter offered two possibilities to help repay outstanding debt. After reading the letter, participants were asked if they would be willing to contact the creditor. The study found that there was a significant difference in the participants' willingness to contact creditors. However, financial self-efficacy was not found to be a significant moderator. The present study provides additional support to previous findings that increasing perceived control led to a higher willingness to contact in the context of financial hardship.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
As the negative consequences of debts are substantial, it is important that indebted people seek and accept help. However, people in debt are often reluctant to contact the creditor and identify...Show moreAs the negative consequences of debts are substantial, it is important that indebted people seek and accept help. However, people in debt are often reluctant to contact the creditor and identify shame as a barrier. Moreover, they experience a lack of acknowledgement when communicating with creditors. Given the human need for acknowledgement and the suggestion that acknowledgement can reduce shame, the current study examined the effect of acknowledgement on indebted people’s willingness to contact the creditor and explored the role of financial shame. To this end, 206 native English-speaking people with current or past debts completed an online experiment in which they read either a standard creditor letter or a creditor letter in which the creditor acknowledged the situation of the person in debt. Willingness to contact the creditor and financial shame did not differ between participants who read a creditor letter in which their situations were acknowledged and those whose read a standard creditor letter. However, higher financial shame was associated with lower willingness to contact. We conclude that acknowledging indebted people’s situations is not enough to increase their willingness to contact the creditor. Future research could test other ways to address and reduce the financial shame.Show less
