This study investigates how anthropomorphism in female virtual influencers (VIs) affects women’s objectification and social comparison, focusing on South Korean female social media users. Drawing on social comparison theory and objectification theory, a between-subjects experiment was conducted with 200 women aged 18–35. Participants viewed attractive influencer images presented either in highly anthropomorphic (unaltered humanlike) or low-anthropomorphic (digitally animated) forms. Results showed that higher anthropomorphism increased perceived similarity, which reduced objectification but simultaneously heightened appearance comparisons. In contrast, lower anthropomorphism elicited stronger objectification, as less humanlike bodies were treated with reduced moral concern. These findings indicate that anthropomorphism produces dual and contradictory outcomes: while it can mitigate objectified views of women’s bodies, it also amplifies harmful appearance comparisons that undermine body image and well-being. The study underscores the need for responsible VI design, incorporating diverse body shapes, races, and ethnicities, and calls for further research on mediating roles of appearance schema.
This study analyzes wage disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals using "Human Capital Theory" and "Intersectionality Theory". A survey of U.S. adults and multinomial logistic regression are used to test whether LGBTQ+ workers face wage penalties even after controlling for education and experience, and how job insecurity makes these disadvantages worse. The results show that when jobs are stable, the gap is small, but when job insecurity is high, LGBTQ+ individuals are much more likely to fall into the lowest wage group. In other words, wage inequality is most severe when LGBTQ+ identity and job insecurity overlap. Such low wages are not only about unfairness at work. They also weaken household finances, limit access to basic needs such as housing, food, and healthcare, and make it harder to save for retirement or build long-term security. This study shows that wage inequality is not only a labor market issue but also a structural problem that harms consumer and family well-being.
Author(s): Jake G. Zavala Zavala, Hye-Jun Park, Wookjae Heo
Gamification is increasingly embedded in consumers’ daily lives, from fitness tracking to language learning, with the promise of driving engagement and motivation. Yet, despite its growing prevalence and celebrated benefits, less is known about its potential downside for consumer well-being. This research investigates the unintended consequences of gamification, focusing on its capacity to induce consumer distress. Using a multi-study mixed-method approach, we integrate insights from in-depth interviews, an online survey, a scenario-based experiment and a longitudinal field study to examine how achievement- and social-oriented gamification features affect consumer distress. Our findings reveal that gamification can foster distress, particularly among consumers with a strong outcome goal orientation and low to moderate self-esteem. Qualitative results further highlight the amplifying role of distance to goal, while excessive engagement with features, manifesting in compulsive thoughts and over-involvement, emerges as a key mechanism driving distress. By moving beyond the dominant focus on gamification’s positive outcomes, this research advances understanding of unintended consumer outcomes and underscores the need for more mindful design and use of gamified technologies. Implications extend to consumers, companies, and policymakers alike, calling for education, supportive design, and protective policies to ensure that gamification serves consumer well-being rather than eroding it.
Author(s): Lisa Baiwir, Laurence Dessart, Cécile Delcourt
I'm a PhD candidate and Teaching Assistant in Marketing at the University of Liège (Belgium), expected to graduate in Summer 2026. My research sits at the intersection of technology interaction and consumer well-being, with a particular focus on dysfunctional engagement patterns... Read More →
This study examines who uses Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) in the United States and why, distinguishing constraint-driven use from convenience-driven adoption. Using the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances with repeated-imputation inference and replicate weights (4,595 households; 22,975 observations), we estimate survey-weighted binary-choice models of BNPL participation (7% prevalence). The central construct is Objective Financial Well-Being (FWB), defined by three thresholds: at least 2.5 months of liquid assets, at least 50% of assets in investments, and a solvency ratio above one. Explanatory blocks include other installment debt, missed credit-card payments, liquidity slack, financial sophistication, risk tolerance, use of financial advice, and socioeconomic controls. We predict lower BNPL uptake among high-FWB households and higher uptake among those with other loans, missed card payments, and greater liquidity slack; we also expect a positive association with financial knowledge. Findings will inform policy (targeted disclosures and affordability checks), product design, and financial education by clarifying whether BNPL primarily serves financially constrained households or also functions as a budgeting tool for resilient consumers. Before the conference, we plan a cross-survey comparison using the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) to link BNPL use to subjective financial well-being.
Author(s): Patrick Tito Buah-Bassuah, Vikesh Kumar, Theophilus Amanfo
Using nationally representative SHED 2022–2024 data, this study examines how unmet health needs, medical financial stress, and caregiving burdens shape insurance coverage and subjective financial well-being. Survey-weighted logistic models show that unmet needs are associated with higher odds of being uninsured, medical stress substantially lowers the probability of feeling better off than one year ago, and caregiving burdens markedly reduce the likelihood of reporting that the household is at least managing okay. Effects are graded and robust across specifications, amplified among low-income households and middle-aged and older adults, and partly buffered by dual coverage. Framed by Conservation of Resources theory, the results depict compounding loss spirals across access to care, liquidity, and time. The findings provide a pre-policy baseline relevant to current debates over Medicaid eligibility, caregiver supports, and medical-debt protections, and they offer concrete practice guidance on screening for clustered vulnerabilities that erode both structural security and perceived financial resilience.
This study examines how Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) usage relates to household financial well-being using the 2024 National Financial Capability Study. Financial well-being is measured multidimensionally via subjective financial satisfaction, the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale, and self-reported financial stress. BNPL is a binary indicator of use in the past 12 months. OLS models with state fixed effects control for demographics, socioeconomic status, and objective and subjective financial knowledge. Subsample analyses (by financial knowledge and age) and propensity score matching corroborate the main results. Across specifications, BNPL use is associated with lower financial satisfaction, lower CFPB scores, and higher financial stress. Findings position BNPL as a potential marker of financial vulnerability and underscore the need for targeted education and policy measures while calling for longitudinal and qualitative research to clarify mechanisms and causality.
Social Security is a main source of retirement income for many Americans. The age at which people start taking their Social Security benefits directly influences the amount they receive each month and over their lifetime. Claiming benefits before full retirement age lowers the monthly payment, while delaying increases it. Even though delaying is often better financially, most people still claim their benefits early. We use data from the 2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which surveys older Americans about their health, wealth, and well-being. We review the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, and explore whether the age of claiming Social Security explains part of the link between these traits and financial satisfaction. Using structural equation modeling, we find that conscientious people tend to claim retirement later and feel more satisfied, while agreeable and neurotic people claim earlier and feel less satisfied. Extraversion and openness affect satisfaction directly but not through claiming age. These results demonstrate that Social Security claiming age works as a bridge between personality and financial satisfaction, highlighting how human psychology shapes retirement outcomes.
Author(s): Mark Evers, Taufiq Quadria, Mariya Gavrilova-Aguilar
This study explores how personality traits, specifically conscientiousness and openness, interact with locus of control to shape financial bandwagon behavior. Integrating insights from behavioral finance and personality psychology, we employ an ordered probit model to examine how Big Five personality traits and perceived control influence individuals' tendency to follow the crowd in financial decision-making. Findings reveal that both conscientiousness and an internal locus of control are negatively associated with financial bandwagon behavior. However, the interaction effect suggests that a strong external locus of control can override the cautious nature of conscientious individuals, increasing their likelihood of bandwagon participation. This nuanced relationship highlights that even disciplined, risk-averse individuals may conform to herd behavior when they perceive limited personal agency over outcomes. These results underscore the importance of considering both stable personality dimensions and situational cognitive frames when analyzing financial behavior. Practical implications include tailoring financial education and advising strategies to account for individual differences in personality and perceived control. Financial professionals and policymakers can leverage these insights to design interventions that mitigate irrational investment behaviors and enhance decision quality.
Author(s): Yi Liu, Wookjae Heo, Blain Pearson, Hye Jun Park
This study investigates how midlife psychological traits and behavioral factors influence life satisfaction in later life, particularly for women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we examined the influence of midlife psychological traits and financial behaviors including locus of control, financial literacy (objective and subjective), and retirement planning, on life satisfaction among women aged 57 to 65, and how these relationships vary by marital status. An internal locus of control, and higher subjective financial knowledge were positively associated with life satisfaction. In contrast, higher objective financial knowledge was linked to higher likelihood of reporting lower life satisfaction and a reduced likelihood of reporting the highest satisfaction level. Retirement planning was not a significant predictor. Marital status significantly influenced life satisfaction for married women who were more likely to report the highest satisfaction. An interaction between retirement planning and marital status revealed that divorced women who had planned for retirement were more likely to report lower life satisfaction and less likely to report the highest level. These findings reinforce the importance of both psychological and financial factors in determining life satisfaction and highlight the role of marital status in modifying these relationships.
This paper presents a qualitative study of Reddit comment data, investigating how individuals leverage consumption to protect themselves from criminal threats. Our analysis finds that people consume to serve three strategic functional categories of protective consumption behaviors: threat-detecting, vulnerability-reducing and severity-reducing strategies. Within these overarching strategies, our analysis of the field data also supports consumers’ use of four particular tactical functions: withdrawal, deterrence, resistance, and recovery. We leverage protection motivation theory as an enabling lens to analyze the data; in doing so, we offer contributions to the theory as well. We discuss these strategies/tactics by introducing what we term the Crime-Protective Consumption Framework. A deeper understanding of how consumers derive value from consumption activities to protect themselves, others, and their property from crime can help guide new product development and marketing messages, and more broadly, illuminate how criminal hazards influence consumer decision-making.
Author(s): Robert Arias, Dallas Novakowski, Miranda Yin
This study analyzes how consumer overconfidence influences sequential behaviors related to financial influencers. Data were drawn from the 2024 Fund Investor Survey conducted by the Korea Financial Consumers Protection Foundation. Overconfidence was categorized into three subtypes: overestimation, overplacement, and overprecision. Dependent variables were defined across four stages of finfluencer engagement: viewing, subscribing, investing, and experiencing harm. Logistic regression was employed as the primary method, complemented by decision tree and random forest models to enhance explanatory power and predictive accuracy. The results demonstrate that overconfidence exerts stage-specific effects. Overplacement increases the likelihood of viewing finfluencer content, while overprecision consistently shows negative effects at the subscription and investment stages. Overestimation, in turn, significantly elevates the likelihood of consumer harm. By contrast, consumer resources and competencies—including financial literacy, risk tolerance, financial planning horizon, assets, and age—emerged as the most influential predictors in the decision tree and random forest models, underscoring their critical role in shaping overall engagement. These findings yield two key implications. First, distinct types of overconfidence biases act as significant determinants of consumer engagement at different stages. Second, consumer protection strategies should extend beyond correcting psychological biases to strengthening financial literacy and addressing age-specific differences in risk tolerance and financial planning horizon. Overall, the results provide meaningful insights for the design of educational and policy measures aimed at protecting retail investors in the era of financial influencers.
A significant body of literature examines the influence of financial confidence, overconfidence, and/or underconfidence on a variety of financial behaviours and outcomes. Yet researchers have used a host of different methodologies to produce this work. This paper describes the results of reviewing 66 articles and reports the focus concepts (confidence, over/underconfidence), the operational definitions, the data used, and the various ways in which the key variables were constructed in existing research. It concludes by identifying decision points for scholars conducting future research in this area.
This study explored how financial hardship relates to life satisfaction, focusing on the roles of financial satisfaction and financial resilience. Results showed that people facing financial hardship tended to report lower satisfaction with both their finances and overall life. However, those with higher financial satisfaction felt more positive about life, even when experiencing financial hardship. Financial satisfaction also helped explain how financial hardship was related to life satisfaction, acting as a mediator. In addition, financial resilience played a protective role as a moderator. It was linked to higher financial satisfaction and reduced the negative impact of financial hardship.
This study investigates how intergenerational economic responsibilities, together with baby boomers' health and financial characteristics, are related to their life satisfaction. Baby boomers, often described as both an affluent generation and a burdened "sandwich generation," face prolonged support to adult children and continued transfers to elderly parents. Drawing on ten annual waves of a nationally representative Korean household panel, we examine these factors in relation to seven domains of life satisfaction: income, leisure, housing, family, relatives/kin, friendship/social ties, and overall life. Using correlated random-effects models with year fixed effects, we distinguish within-household changes from between-household differences. The results show that health and metropolitan residence are the strongest correlates of life satisfaction, while intergenerational burdens are more limited and domain specific. A greater number of co-resident children provides a small increase in satisfaction, but adult-child co-residence and financial support to parents are largely unrelated to shifts of satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of health promotion and place-based policy strategies while suggesting that the widely invoked "sandwich generation" narrative may not be the most critical factor shaping baby boomers' well-being.
This study extends the Capability Approach to the financial domain by examining financial optimism as a psychological pathway to life satisfaction. Using primary data collected in late 2021, the analysis explored how individual capabilities, external conditions, and financial functionings contribute to financial optimism and, ultimately, life satisfaction. Findings show that both internal and external factors are significantly related to financial behaviors, which in turn foster financial optimism. Financial optimism emerged as a key factor, linking proactive budgeting, maintaining a saving–debt buffer, and engagement with financial products to higher life satisfaction. The results highlight the importance of considering not only financial skills, behaviors, and external resources but also psychological dimensions. Policies and educational initiatives should integrate support from external financial systems with capability development while also fostering individuals’ confidence and optimism, thereby promoting resilience and long-term well-being.
Author(s): Yu Zhang, Jia Qi, Swarn Chatterjee, Jinhee Kim
This study examines the interplay between financial capacity, investing experience, and self-reported risk tolerance among affluent US investors. Data were collected via an online Qualtrics survey administered to members of the Precision Sample research panel in 2023. Participants were required to actively manage their household investments. The design intentionally oversampled high-income households, defined as those with combined spousal or partner incomes between $200,000 and $300,000, as well as high-net-worth individuals, defined as those with a net worth exceeding $1 million (excluding the value of their primary residence and any associated loans). Using hierarchical clustering, K-means clustering, ANOVA, and generalized linear modeling, investors were segmented into three statistically distinct profiles defined by their financial knowledge, investment experience, and financial capacity. The highest risk-tolerance group was neither the most experienced nor the most knowledgeable, whereas the most financially knowledgeable and skilled group exhibited the lowest willingness to take risks. These findings challenge the assumption that greater financial sophistication automatically equates to higher risk tolerance. Findings highlight the significant role of psychological and situational factors in investment decision-making. The results have implications for those who provide investment and financial advice, client risk profiling practices, and regulatory approaches to assessing investor suitability.
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This study examines the short- and long-run effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial risk tolerance (FRT) in the United States, focusing on racial/ethnic and regional differences. Using the 2018, 2021, and 2024 waves of the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) and a propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) framework, we construct treated (COVID-affected) and control groups to estimate causal impacts with repeated cross-sectional data. Results indicate a significant decline in FRT in the short run (2021) that persists through 2024, suggesting a lasting impact of the pandemic on households’ willingness to take financial risk. Subgroup analyses reveal heterogeneity: women, lower-income households, and those with greater financial knowledge report lower FRT, while racial/ethnic differences are mixed. Notably, higher educational attainment is associated with lower FRT, diverging from much of the prior literature. Overall, the pandemic produced a persistent reduction in FRT with important demographic variation, underscoring the need for targeted financial education and policy responses to support resilient wealth-building.
This study examines racial and ethnic disparities in trust toward financial institutions, a critical but underexplored factor shaping financial inclusion and consumer well-being. Using nationally representative Financial Health Pulse data, we analyze overall trust and four key dimensions: whether institutions can keep deposits safe, provide good financial advice, are honest and transparent about costs and fees, and want to help improve customers’ finances. We find that while 61% of Americans trust financial institutions somewhat or completely, trust levels differ sharply by race and ethnicity. Around two-thirds of Asian and white consumers report trust, compared with about half of Black and Latine consumers, who are also more likely to feel ambivalent. Asian respondents report similar overall trust to white respondents but lower affective trust — they have more confidence in what financial institutions can do than in whether they genuinely want to help. These gaps matter because trust influences how consumers engage with banks, build savings, and access safe credit. By highlighting where trust breaks down, this study offers insight to improve equity, strengthen confidence in financial institutions, and support consumer and family economic well-being.
The financial planning profession faces a critical challenge in preparing future practitioners to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to expand access to financial guidance for underserved populations. This study applies Human-Automation Interaction theory to examine how trust, gender, and academic performance shape undergraduate financial planning students’ adoption of ChatGPT. A survey of 60 advanced financial planning students measured AI usage frequency, trust in ChatGPT, and reliance on AI advice. Results show significant positive correlations among trust, usage frequency, and reliance, which are consistent with HAI theory predictions. Female students reported significantly higher ChatGPT usage than their male peers, challenging prior evidence of women’s lower AI adoption rates. A negative relationship between GPA and AI advice reliance indicated that lower-performing students are more likely to depend on AI for financial guidance. These findings have critical implications for financial planning education and professional development, including the need for trust-building curricula, gender-responsive training, and guidance to ensure ethical AI use that supports client well-being. By documenting how future financial planners develop relationships with AI, this research highlights strategies for workforce development that can enhance consumer well-being and broaden access to quality financial advice through technology-enhanced practice.
This study examines the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, financial planners, and their combined use in promoting retirement saving behavior among 2,000 state and local government employees. The research introduces the Technology-Enabled Financial Help-Seeking (TEFHS) framework, extending traditional help-seeking theory to incorporate AI-based advice sources. Using logistic regression analysis, we find that all formal advice sources are associated with higher odds of retirement saving compared to using no advice. AI-only users demonstrate 75% higher odds of saving, financial planner-only users show 181% higher odds, and individuals using both sources exhibit 254% higher odds. These patterns support the TEFHS framework’s expectation that AI and human advisors work best when used together rather than in isolation, contributing distinct forms of capital to retirement planning decisions. Results indicate persistent demographic disparities, with women and Black participants showing lower saving rates despite advice access. The findings suggest that AI tools can expand access to retirement guidance for underserved populations while enhancing rather than replacing traditional advisory relationships. This research provides evidence-based insights for practitioners integrating technology into service delivery, policymakers considering AI-enabled employee benefits, and researchers studying technology adoption in financial services.
People who are considered a sexual and gender minority (SGM) person identify as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual; sexual minority) or whose gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth (e.g., transgender, nonbinary, queer; gender minority). Much of what researchers know about family finance has been identified based on research focusing on cisgender heterosexual people and operates under the assumption of generalizability. Yet, sexual and gender minority (SGM) couples likely experience important differences when engaging with financial services and professionals. We seek to understand the experiences of SGM people in relationships, who are not traditionally represented in family finance. We focus on expanding our understanding of access and inclusion in financial services and education. Specifically, we examined the research question: What can financial service providers and educators do to support SGM couples and families? Qualitative analysis, specifically deductive thematic analysis, examined responses from 300 SGM respondents in relationships (100 women in relationships with women, 101 men in relationships with men, 99 gender minority people in relationships). Using suggestions directly from SGM people will help financial practitioners better understand and know how to provide more inclusive and effective services to these populations.
Younger people often hear parents or grandparents lamenting about how inexpensive things seemed to be “back in their day.” Gas was only 50 cents, milk was cheaper. Today, the price of consumer goods and the housing market have increased with inflation and economic upheaval compared to previous decades, but unfortunately, wages and purchasing power have not kept up with the demands on our wallets. The economic context of each generation informs their financial attitudes, which impacts behavior and financial outcomes. Throughout this study, we investigate the associations between generational cohort, frugal financial attitudes, and financial well-being. This study includes three research questions: RQ1) How is generational cohort associated with frugal financial attitudes (e.g., setting up emergency funds, spending less than earned, and perceived low debt burden)? RQ2) How is generational cohort associated with financial well-being? RQ3) How are frugal financial attitudes associated with financial well-being? Frugal attitudes positively influence financial well-being across all five generational cohorts. These findings suggest that fostering frugal financial attitudes can serve as protective factors that enhance perceived financial satisfaction and security.
This study tests whether a scarcity mindset is associated with the use of alternative financial services, whether the association is stable above and beyond established predictors of the use of alternative financial services, and whether it differs by household income.
