The relationship between financial scarcity and persistence was examined using an online performance-based measure of persistence, the Anagram and Riddles task (ART). It was hypothesized that...Show moreThe relationship between financial scarcity and persistence was examined using an online performance-based measure of persistence, the Anagram and Riddles task (ART). It was hypothesized that feelings of financial scarcity leads to less persistence, measured by time spent on the hard and unsolvable anagrams and riddles. The Household Task was used to provoke feelings of financial scarcity in the experimental group and the scores on the PIFS were used to measure each person’s financial scarcity in real life. Results showed a marginally significant relationship between persistence time on unsolvable trials and the ‘PIFS’. This would suggest that people who experience more financial scarcity, show more persistency than people without financial scarcity when trying to solve the unsolvable. Possible explanations for the lack of other significant findings include uncontrolled settings and absence of personal motivation during the task.Show less
Lesser possession of financial resources greatly impacts livelihood and well-being. This state of scarcity manifests itself in individuals through alterations in cognitive functioning and decision...Show moreLesser possession of financial resources greatly impacts livelihood and well-being. This state of scarcity manifests itself in individuals through alterations in cognitive functioning and decision-making. This situation affects individual on different levels, depending on available resources and contextual means. This research is concerned about the role of personality traits, particularly impulsivity, on decision-making under situations of scarcity. Prior research has found that impulsivity affects decision-making, manifesting itself in rash action and impulsive behavior. Here, we apply these findings and discuss the degree of impulsivity and its moderating role in the relationship of financial scarcity and risk preference. This effect was investigated through a multiple-scaled questionnaire. One task, the lottery choice task, and two scales, the Psychological Inventory of Financial Scarcity (PIFS) and a shortened version of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-15), were administered and utilized for the analysis. A total of 100 participants based in United Kingdom were involved in the questionnaire. The results yield no significance between impulsivity and the relationship of financial scarcity and risk preference. Future research may look deeper into cultural differences and biases that may be involved in the decision-making process, as well as looking into different instruments that measures the trait impulsivity itself.Show less
This study aimed to investigate the effects of financial scarcity on cognitive persistence. A sample of 202 participants from the United Kingdom was recruited through Prolific (Mage = 40.29 years,...Show moreThis study aimed to investigate the effects of financial scarcity on cognitive persistence. A sample of 202 participants from the United Kingdom was recruited through Prolific (Mage = 40.29 years, 53.5% female). The participants were representative of income ranges between £10,000 and £159,000, with equal distribution across low-income, middle- income, and high-income segments. The SPSS version 28.0 was used to analyze the data. The association between the predictors (Condition, PIFS, and Interaction PIFS Condition) and the dependent variable, hard trial performance, was investigated using regression analysis. None of the predictors significantly predicted the variation in hard trials, according to the data (p >.05). Hard trial scores were not significantly explained by the Condition, PIFS, or the interaction of PIFS and Condition (R2 =.019, p =.289). Additionally, the conditional effects study showed that the interaction term (Interaction PIFS Condition) did not significantly contribute to the prediction of hard trials (p >.05). These results emphasize the complexity of the relationship between financial hardship and cognitive persistence and the pressing need for more research.Show less
Financial shame can lead people to avoid seeking or accepting help with their financial problems. We expect that attenuating feelings of shame motivates people to seek help. To test this...Show moreFinancial shame can lead people to avoid seeking or accepting help with their financial problems. We expect that attenuating feelings of shame motivates people to seek help. To test this expectation, we conduct an experiment in which we present participants with an alleged website of an organisation that provides financial advice. They are presented with one of two versions. In one version the communication of the organisation is geared toward attenuating feelings of shame, whereas in the other it is not. As hypothesized, participants who experienced less shame perceived the organisation as more positive and were more likely to contact or recommend the organisation to friends or family, and these people dealt with the financial situation more constructively (hypothesis 1a-1c). Contrary to our hypothesis, only people with higher shame perceived the organisation as less positive and people with higher shame and stigma would contact or recommend the organisation less often to friends or family and handled their financial situation less constructively (hypothesis 2a-2c).Show less
Financial scarcity raises negative consequences on individual and societal level. Much help is offered, but many people do not seek help. The goal of this research is to test whether an...Show moreFinancial scarcity raises negative consequences on individual and societal level. Much help is offered, but many people do not seek help. The goal of this research is to test whether an intervention designed to increase perceived financial self-efficacy increases the likelihood that people with financial problems take appropriate action. It is hypothesized that participants who are presented with a self-efficacy heightening website of an organisation that offers them financial help, perceive this organisation as more positive, are more likely to contact the organisation, and handle their situation more constructively (Hypothesis 1a, 1b, and 1c). It is expected that these effects are stronger when participants experience less control (Hypothesis 2a, 2b, and 2c). Results support hypothesis 1c and partly support hypothesis 2a: participants in the experimental condition rated the organisation as warmer, the lower they scored on self-efficacy, but not as more moral and competent. The other hypotheses were not supported.Show less
Prior research has shown that diminished working memory performance might be both a consequence and cause of poverty, as it impairs the ability to make thoughtful decisions which can lead to...Show morePrior research has shown that diminished working memory performance might be both a consequence and cause of poverty, as it impairs the ability to make thoughtful decisions which can lead to economic choices that perpetuate poverty. In this study, we hypothesized that financial scarcity adversely affects working memory performance. We expected this effect to be stronger for sudden financial scarcity than for constant financial scarcity. In addition, we expected sudden financial abundance to alleviate the effect of financial scarcity on working memory performance. To test our hypotheses we conducted an online experiment with 187 British participants. During the experiment, participants had to manage expenses in the household task. Participants were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions, in which they experienced financial scarcity or financial abundance, the experience being either constant or sudden because of an economic shock. Subsequently, we measured their working memory performance with the online backward Corsi task. Our results do not provide evidence of adverse effects of financial scarcity on working memory performance. We discuss possible explanations for our results. We propose the null finding in this study is most likely due to our methodology.Show less
In this study, we hypothesized that the financial scarcity mindset would lead to a lower working memory performance. Additionally, we also hypothesized that a sudden loss of money would lead to...Show moreIn this study, we hypothesized that the financial scarcity mindset would lead to a lower working memory performance. Additionally, we also hypothesized that a sudden loss of money would lead to lower working memory performance than it would a longer period of financial scarcity. We experimentally induced financial scarcity by a financial task - the Household task and we operationalized working memory performance as participants’ scores on the backwards Corsi task. In an online experiment, 187 adult British participants were randomly assigned to four groups, which varied both in the amount of income they received and whether they received or did not receive a wealth shock. Although none of our hypotheses were confirmed, significant experimental manipulation results proved this study design is valid to use when experimentally inducing financial scarcity. We discussed the results and proposed that incentivizing people should be taken into consideration in future research and practice, as an important factor that might diminish the negative effects of financial scarcity on working memory performance.Show less
