ABSTRACT. Worldwide, an increasing number of retailers are implementing checkout-free shopping technology into their stores. This technology uses AI-enabled sensors and cameras to track automatically which products customers take from or return to the shelves. After shopping, customers can leave the store without stopping at a register. Their account will be automatically charged, and they receive a digital receipt via the checkout-free shopping app on their smartphone. Companies hope that checkout-free shopping can increase profits by decreasing labor costs. The gathered data can also help them tailor their marketing and product range to customers' shopping behavior. Additionally, they want to remove customer hassles at the checkout, thereby improving the customer journey. Despite the accessibility of checkout-free shopping to millions of consumers around the world, research on the psychological effects of checkout-free shopping on consumers’ cognitions and behavior is still scarce. One crucial psychological concept currently overlooked is payment transparency, i.e., the salience of giving up financial resources when paying. We propose that checkout-free shopping decreases payment transparency. That is because a conventional checkout consists of multiple opportunities for customers to interact with products and their prices: Customers put their products on the belt and see the products getting scanned. They see the individual prices and the total price on the checkout display. They also interact with a payment method of their choice and pack their products into a shopping bag. Eliminating these steps should lead to reduced payment transparency in checkout-free stores. Decreased payment transparency can influence the consumer experience during and beyond the shopping trip. Research on payment methods suggests that reduced payment transparency can lead to a biased price perception and adversely affects consumers' price recall. In line with that, we propose that the reduced payment transparency in checkout-free stores should influence consumers’ price perception. More precisely, consumers should perceive prices in a checkout-free store as being cheaper than prices in other stores. Further, we propose that the reduced payment transparency in checkout-free stores diminishes the recall accuracy of prices. Price recall accuracy should be diminished not only for purchased products but also for unpurchased products. That is because the reduced payment transparency should shift consumers’ focus away from prices during the product selection and the payment phase. To test our predictions, we conducted a pre-registered incentivized between-subject experiment. We collected data from N = 150 participants to investigate whether checkout-free shopping decreases payment transparency, which then leads to a more favorable price perception (i.e., prices are perceived as being cheaper than in other stores) and decreases the recall accuracy of prices (i.e., the total spending amount, prices of purchased products, and prices of unpurchased products). Participants were randomly assigned to shop either in a conventional or a checkout-free simulated store. Therefore, we built up a store that could be converted from conventional to checkout-free and vice versa in our laboratory. The participants’ task was a shopping trip using a general shopping list that contained the three product categories available in the store (chocolate, strawberry jam, spaghetti). According to that shopping list, participants should purchase one item from each product category. Participants received either a payment card or a virtual payment account with a €10 budget for their expenses. To incentivize participants to make realistic choices, 10% could win their shopping basket and the remaining budget. After their shopping trip, participants returned to the reporting room, where they had to recall the prices of all individual products and their overall basket total. To incentivize participants to recall the prices as accurately as possible, the top 10% were rewarded with a €10 bonus. Further, participants had to complete items on price perception and payment transparency.

We analyzed the data using multi-level analyses. Results indicate that checkout-free shopping significantly increased the recall error for prices of purchased products and the total spending amount. For purchased products, the price recall error was 5 percentage points higher in the checkout-free shopping group than in the conventional checkout group. For the total spending amount, the recall error increased by 10 percentage points in the checkout-free shopping group. These effects are further illustrated by the finding that 24 participants in the conventional checkout group could recall their exact total spending amount, while only 4 participants in the checkout-free shopping group could do so. Results further indicate that the effect of checkout-free shopping on the recall error for prices of purchased products and the overall basket total was significantly mediated by reduced payment transparency in checkout-free stores. However, results do not support the proposed effect of checkout-free shopping on the recall for prices of unpurchased products or the general price perception.

Our findings have implications for theory and practice. First, we extend the payment transparency literature by showing that not only the actual payment but the entire checkout-process matters for payment transparency. Second, we provide several practical implications. The reduced payment transparency in checkout-free stores leads to a biased memory of expenditures; however, consumers need correct memory of expenditures to monitor their budgets. Policymakers should protect consumers from losing their budget overview. Additionally, consumers could use tools like budget planners to increase their financial overview. From a managerial perspective, these findings are relevant as consumers might avoid checkout-free stores altogether to control their spending. To counteract this, managers could install measures to increase consumers’ budget overview, for example, by using haptic feedback in the checkout-free shopping app that informs the customer about their purchase. Thereby, consumers’ acceptance of checkout-free shopping could be increased.

ABSTRACT. Dynamic pricing is a pricing strategy widely employed across various sectors, including (online-)retail, travel bookings, or the purchase of everyday goods. It refers to adjusting prices based on several factors, such as supply and demand, product availability, or consumer-specific data. With the ongoing advancement of digital technologies that analyze market conditions and customer behavior, dynamic pricing strategies have become highly relevant as sellers can adjust prices almost in real time. Previous research has primarily highlighted the negative effects of dynamic pricing on consumers’ purchase intentions and their perception of the sellers’ integrity. Numerous studies have shown that dynamic pricing reduces consumers’ fairness perception and trust toward the seller, leading to decreased purchase intentions, negative word of mouth, and more complaints or refund claims. Only a few studies have shown conditions when purchase intentions are not reduced: When consumers perceive dynamic prices as sufficiently high discounts, the pricing process as transparent, or attribute price changes to themselves. However, despite the generally negative effects, economic data shows that sellers can increase their revenues using dynamic pricing, suggesting that additional psychological mechanisms may be relevant.

We propose a conceptual framework that explores consumer reactions to dynamic pricing and identifies open research areas, outlining future research directions. The aim is to provide a comprehensive perspective on consumers’ reactions to dynamic pricing and to contribute to understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms shaping consumers’ emotions, cognitions, and behavior. Our framework is organized to account for psychological effects at both pre-purchase and post-purchase stages.

Regarding the pre-purchase stage, previous studies on purchase intentions have mainly examined the negative impact of dynamic price increases. However, less is known about the effects of dynamic price decreases that may influence consumers’ perceptions and purchase intentions differently. A relevant question is whether emotional reactions to price decreases are merely the opposite of those induced by price increases, or whether distinct psychological mechanisms underlie these responses. For example, if a price increase leads to a loss of trust in the seller, does a price decrease lead to a corresponding gain in trust? Price decreases may lead to emotions like surprise, pride, joy, confidence, or the satisfaction of finding a good deal. These emotions may be relevant not only for their valence but for their specific attributions. There is also little knowledge about the conditions where dynamic pricing (both price increases and decreases) potentially leads to positive consumer reactions. One important factor could be consumers’ feelings of control. Frequent and non-transparent price changes make it difficult for them to predict future price developments. However, if consumers believe they can influence their displayed prices (e.g., by using different devices or timing their purchases strategically), their feelings of control may increase. This may in turn lead to a greater acceptance of dynamic pricing. Other product- and context-related factors may also play a significant role in the perception of dynamic pricing. Do consumers perceive dynamic pricing as more justified for hedonic (vs. utilitarian) or green (vs. non-green) products? How do consumers interpret the sellers’ communication strategies of dynamic pricing in different contexts? Do consumer reactions differ between online and offline contexts? Dynamic pricing in grocery stores may feel more arbitrary as price adjustments are not personalized and consumers make typically immediate purchase decisions without observing price fluctuations over time.

Regarding the post-purchase stage, consumer reactions have been less explored so far. However, they are highly relevant as they influence future purchase behavior, long-term consumer attitudes, and the customer lifetime value. One important aspect refers to emotions consumers experience when they have recently completed a purchase, and later find the same product at a lower or higher price. For example, a price decrease may lead to frustration, anger, or regret, as consumers may think they paid an unjustifiably higher price. In contrast, a later price increase may lead to relief or pleasure, as consumers may feel they got a good offer. Two key questions are whether emotional responses to price changes after a purchase mirror those before, and whether these responses are more intense as the transaction is already completed and irreversible. Emotional reactions after the purchase may shape re-purchase intentions, word-of-mouth, or brand-switching behavior. The long-term effects of these emotions may influence consumers’ engagement with the brand, their loyalty, and attitudes toward the brand. Other important aspects are consumers’ perceptions of the seller, and potential strategies retailers can use to improve these perceptions and to build trust. For example, price-tracking tools may offer consumers a higher price transparency and a higher feeling of control. However, these tools may backfire if consumers see how frequently prices are adjusted, making the pricing strategy seem even more unpredictable and unfair. Finally, two underexplored areas of dynamic pricing are consumer heuristics for predicting future price fluctuations and the learning effects after experiencing dynamic pricing. These areas may provide insights into how consumers adapt their expectations and decision-making processes.

To summarize, our conceptual framework offers a comprehensive perspective on consumers' reactions to dynamic pricing across different stages of their purchase decisions. The framework highlights open questions for future research by identifying potential underlying psychological effects and mechanisms.

ABSTRACT. When a majority of the population supports a certain policy objective, policymakers are left with the task of implementing a policy that works toward that objective. They have a wide range of measures to choose from and can decide, among others, between price-based and regulatory policies. As the successful implementation of public policies depends on the public’s acceptance of the policy (Grelle and Hofmann, 2024), it is important to study the public’s policy preferences. The choice between regulatory and price-based policies may be driven by a trade-off between financial burden and freedom: While price-based policies impose a financial burden on individuals but still allow them to continue the behavior the policy seeks to reduce, regulatory policies restrict the freedom but many individuals perceive that there is no direct financial cost associated with the policy. This study investigates the public’s policy preferences by having individuals choose between a regulatory and a price-based policy for different price level, where both policies aim at the same policy objective. We focus on two policy objectives concerning everyday life that have been discussed in the media, namely (1) reducing car traffic in city centers and (2) reducing sugar consumption from soft drinks. Our survey experiment, conducted with a general population sample of over 4,000 Germans, contributes to the literature on policy acceptance in three ways. First, studying policy preferences in two contexts allows us to examine their context-dependency as policy acceptance may vary across context (Carlsson et al., 2024; Diepeveen et al., 2013). Second, we elicit policy preferences for price-based versus regulatory policies in a novel way. Instead of comparing support for different policies (see e.g., Dechezleprêtre et al., 2022; Hagmann et al., 2018), we ask respondents to choose between a price-based and a regulatory policy. Our pre-registered survey experiment varies (1) the price level of the price-based policy and (2) the regulatory policy and its intrusiveness. This allows us to examine the extent to which policy preferences depend on the policy characteristics. Third, by conducting an information provision experiment, we can draw causal conclusions about how perceived effectiveness and perceived distributional consequences, key factors in policy acceptance (e.g., Grelle and Hofmann, 2024), shape policy preferences. Within each context (sugar consumption/car traffic in city centers), respondents are presented with two choice situations, in which they are asked to indicate their preference for a price-based policy versus a regulatory policy toward the same policy objective. Between the two choice situations in a context, the price-based policy remains constant whereas the regulatory policy (and its intrusiveness) varies. Each choice situation consists of five individual choices between the regulatory and the price-based policy, with the price of the price-based policy gradually increasing in a multiple price list (MPL) format. In the information provision experiment, the high-effectiveness and low-effectiveness treatments provide respondents with estimates of the effect of the price-based policy at the lowest price level from the MPL, while the regressivity treatment provides the respondents with information about possible regressive effects of the price-based policy. The control group receives no additional information. In all choice situations, policy preferences do not depend on the price level of the price-based policy for more than 40 percent of respondents: the ”always regulatory” group comprises between 20 and to 50 percent of individuals, while 15 to 25 percent of individuals always choose the price-based policy. Almost one-tenth of the respondents always choose either the price-based policy or always the regulatory policy for all price levels in all four choice situations. However, we also observe that for many individuals, the price level determines policy preferences. Between 10 and 25 percent of respondents switch from preferring the price-based policy to preferring the regulatory policy as the price rises. Conversely, 5 to 15 percent of respondents prefer the regulatory policy when the price is low, but switch to the price-based policy at a high price. To further investigate policy preferences, we use several multinomial logit models. We find that the policy preferences are context-dependent. In the car traffic context, a significantly lower proportion always chooses regulatory and switches from regulatory to price-based as the price level increases, and a significantly higher proportion always chooses price-based and switches from price-based to regulatory. This context-dependency may reflect differences in the perceived necessity of the behavior that is supposed to be reduced: sugar consumption may be regarded as more of a choice, making high prices more acceptable, while car use may be regarded as more of a necessity. In both contexts, a significantly higher proportion of the control group always chooses the regulatory policy and a significantly lower proportion always chooses the price-based policy when the regulatory policy is more intrusive. This suggests that the preference for the regulatory over the price-based policy increases with the intrusiveness of the regulatory policy as respondents perceive the intrusive policy to be more effective. For our information provision experiment, we find that providing respondents with a high effect estimate of the price-based policy treatment reduces the proportion of respondents who always prefer the regulatory policy and increases the share of respondents who switch from the price-based policy to the regulatory policy as the price rises. We interpret this as the high-effectiveness treatment demonstrating that the price-based policy is effective even at a low price and thus increasing the support for the price-based policy at low prices, possibly because respondents who previously preferred the regulatory policy at all prices now prefer the price-based policy at low prices. The regressivity treatment reduces the share of respondents who always prefer the price-based policy in the car traffic context but not in the sugar context.

ABSTRACT. Digital credit, typically offered as short-term, high-interest loans through mobile channels, has surged over the last 10 years with millions of registered users across the developing world. By removing traditional barriers to access, digital credit allows consumers to obtain funds quickly, bypassing physical and procedural constraints. However, much like payday loans in developed economies, it is not clear if the benefits of providing liquidity in times of need outweigh the risk of overindebtness and financial distress. These risks are particularly pronounced in this market, since, on the one hand, many consumers are new to credit and often unaware of their loan terms, and, on the other hand, sophisticated providers, aware of this, may have incentives to obfuscate loan terms.

A common policy intervention to help borrowers understand the terms and costs of a loan are standardized disclosures. In traditional credit markets with relatively homogeneous products a case has been made that disclosures centered around the cost of credit can improve welfare by helping borrowers select more affordable options. However, in digital credit markets, where loans can vary significantly beyond cost (e.g., in disbursement speed, approval requirements, and documentation requirements), consumers may prioritize non-price attributes and, consequently, firms have an incentive to differentiate on those. For instance, digital borrowers often value quick disbursement for urgent needs. Further, minimal documentation requirements with high approval rates can justify high rates for those with limited options. In a market where both firms and consumers care about attribute heterogeneity, standardized disclosures based purely on cost could inadvertently create barriers to the best product match, limiting their potential benefits.

In this paper, we study how various disclosures of price and non-price attributes impact consumer choice in the Philippine digital credit market. We first conduct a census of digital credit products to identify the extent of price shrouding in the market. We then present results from a pre-registered online discrete choice experiment with 4,000 prospective digital credit users in which we examine how information standardization and ranking by various price and non-price attributes influence choices and estimate the trade-offs consumers make between these attributes.

In the experiment, participants were randomly assigned to one of eight treatment arms or the control group, and then asked to choose their most preferred option from six hypothetical digital credit products. The products vary across a number of price and non-price attributes, namely: effective interest rate, late payment fee per day, time to disbursement, number of documentary requirements, and probability of approval. The control group, inspired by how digital loans are marketed to consumers in the Philippines, requires participants to hover the mouse over short lines of marketing advertisements to access information on product attributes. In contrast, for all eight treatment arms, the product attributes are presented in a standardized format (i.e., tabular form). The first two treatment arms test the impact of standardization, which involves providing information on product attributes that a regulator might request be presented in fine print. They differ, however, in how the cost of credit is presented: one shows the nominal interest rate and processing fee separately, while the other presents the total cost of credit by collapsing the costs into an effective interest rate. In both treatment arms, the six products are displayed in random order. In the next five treatment arms products are rank-ordered according to one of five attributes. The final treatment arm allows the participant to choose the attribute to rank.

Our analysis uncovers four main findings; in all our regression analyses, we account for multiple hypothesis testing and report both sharpened q-values and Romano-Wolf stepdown adjusted p-values. First, standardizing information leads consumers to choose products with more favorable terms compared to information displayed through traditional marketing campaigns. Specifically, consumers choose digital loans with lower effective interest rate and higher probability of approval, at the expense of longer time to disbursement and additional loan documents. Further, when information is displayed in a standardized format, there is no statistically significant difference between presenting interest rates in effective or nominal terms.

Second, we find that the arrangement of products influences consumer choice. Relative to the condition in which information is standardized but products are presented in random order, displaying products in a rank-ordered manner results in consumers choosing products with more favorable terms on the ranking attribute. For example, ranking the products by effective interest rate results in further reduction in effective interest rate chosen. Additionally, our analysis allows us to quantify how consumers trade-off various price and non-price attributes under different rankings. For example, when ranking by time to disbursement, consumers are willing to accept a 1-hour increase in time to disbursement for a .03 percentage points reduction in the effective interest rate.

Third, after eliciting overconfidence at the individual level, we find that overconfident consumers do not respond to ranking by late payment fee. We measure overconfidence by asking three general knowledge or three financial literacy questions from Lusardi and Mitchell (2014) and comparing participants' self-assessed scores to their actual scores. In both cases, participants who overestimate their scores are flagged as overconfident and, for them, there is no response to ranking by late payment fees, despite reporting a higher probability of past late payments.

Fourth, consistent with the predictions of behavioral contract theory, the census of digital credit products reveals that firms choose not to advertise high-price attributes that arguably are relevant for consumer choice: 36% of products do not explicitly advertise loan fees and 64% do not explicitly advertise how late fees are calculated.

This paper contributes to the literature in three ways. First we contribute to the literature that examines the effect of disclosures on consumer behavior. Second, we contribute to the literature on effectiveness of choice architecture interventions, particularly decision structure interventions, in changing consumer behavior. Third, our results contribute to studies about the role of overconfidence on financial choices and its impact on the effectiveness of consumer protection policies.

ABSTRACT. Borrowing has become a commonplace activity, enabling individuals to achieve various personal and economic goals like education, housing, entrepreneurship, and paying for personal expenses (Espenberg et al., 2021; European Banking Authority, 2023). However, the prevalence of debt, particularly non-mortgage debt, can negatively impact psychological well-being and happiness (Brown et al., 2005; de Bruijn & Antonides, 2020), especially among low- and middle-income individuals (Xiao et al., 2021).

Despite advances in financial technology that have broadened access to formal lending institutions, a significant portion of the population remains excluded from traditional financial services. This can be due to factors such as poor credit history, insufficient collateral, or limited access to banking facilities (Gloukoviezoff, 2007). Consequently, these individuals often turn to the informal lending sector, where they encounter high-interest loans from loan sharks and other predatory lenders (Signal et al., 2012). The informal loan market, characterised by quick access to loans with exorbitant interest rates and exploitative terms, exposes borrowers to severe financial risks and debt spirals (Mendenhall, 2007).

Previous literature has examined alternative functioning loan markets, such as peer-to-peer loans, informal microfinancing and offering high-interest payday loans (institutionalised or not). However, one area has not received any attention – lending groups in social media. One such market is operating in Facebook, where individuals privately seek and provide informal loans. This is a rare case where we can observe an extra-legal loan market in action, as the individuals are giving out loans recurrently and without a credit permit. Furthermore, we can examine the behaviour and attitudes of both the clients and the loan provide.

Our study aims to provide evidence of the Facebook loan market in Estonia as a novel extra-legal loan market, focusing on its dynamics, target audience, credit behaviour, and the interactions between lenders and borrowers. This aim is achieved through qualitative methods, specifically semi-structured interviews, involving 12 lendees, five lenders from the loan marketplace, and five debt counsellors with experience with clients who have borrowed through social media. We also conducted continued observations of new postings in the online group and analysis of previous post data.

Our findings reveal that Facebook loan groups serve as a last resort for borrowers who cannot secure loans through traditional financial institutions. This finding is important in highlighting the market that people turn to when they are unable to be served by mainstream financial providers. The interest rates in the Facebook groups are significantly higher than those offered by regulated credit providers in Estonia - the maximum annual percentage rate (APR) for consumer credit from regulated providers is 52% (Eesti Pank, 2023) but interest rates reported by interviewees and analysed post data averaged around 520%, ten times above the legal limit. This raises concerns about usury and the potential exploitation of vulnerable borrowers. Borrowers were not aware that the interest rate demanded from them is illegal, although they are not under any legal obligation to pay the accrued interest above the stated maximum APR.

Interestingly, it is the lendee who is dictating the interest rate, which is highly unorthodox in other loan markets. Individuals put up their own personal advertisements for obtaining loans, which include how much they are looking to borrow and what they agree to pay back in return. These can include applications with an APR above 10,000%. However, interviewed lenders consider fulfilling these applications as an ethical service they are providing a service for people who require immediate access to credit. When asked about the high interest rates, a common response is that “this is the rate offered by the client”.

Lendees typically used these loans to meet urgent needs towards the end of the month or during emergencies, similarly to the use of payday loans. That said, there were instances of loans being used for consumption purposes, such as purchasing a new car or a crypto miner. The lenders mentioned people being addicted to borrowing money, such as clients wanting to borrow 3 Euros every day.

Moreover, lendees and debt counsellors frequently reported the use of various punishment and intimidation methods, such as lenders posting their clients’ private information in public shaming groups. As lenders obtain a large amount of data from the lendees, including photos of the person holding their ID-card, retirement registry data, bank account information and more, this information can be weaponised to force compliance with the loan contract. On some occasions, lendees faced physical threats by lenders, exacerbating the borrowers’ financial and psychological distress. However, the lenders see the use of such practises as an essential part of ensuring compliance. According to the lenders, around half of their clients remain as “regulars”, indicating a possible spiral of high-interest debt.

This study provides a pioneering exploration of Facebook loan group operations, shedding light on the reasons behind their use, the loan conditions, and the general attitudes towards these platforms. While the study takes place in Estonia, it is likely that similar loan groups exist in other countries as well. However, finding such groups requires in-depth knowledge of the language, as many of the typical search words are censored (such as writing the word “loan” as “lxan”).

The insights gained from this study can inform national institutions and policymakers about the risks associated with this informal lending sector and guide the development of regulations to protect vulnerable borrowers. We also provide a novel examination of the inner workings of an extra-legal loan market, which are notoriously difficult to analyse. The results highlight the need for governments to inform individuals about their rights and obligations when it comes to fulfilling loan contracts, especially in the informal lending sector.

ABSTRACT. Background/Aims: Early intervention tends to produce better outcomes for consumers who are over indebted, yet engagement with debt advice services often occurs as a last resort and research on why individuals delay seeking debt advice has been scant. We explore whether a health psychology model (Model of Pathways to Treatment - MPT; Scott, et al., 2013), designed to explain delays in accessing and avoidance of medical treatment for symptoms of ill health might help us understand why over-indebted individuals often delay seeking debt advice. The MPT divides time-to-start-of-treatment into intervals, each with associated processes and events. There are four such intervals: ‘Appraisal,’ where the individual appraises and self manages their symptoms; ‘Help-Seeking,’ where a decision is made to consult a professional; ‘Diagnostic,’ where investigations and referrals are carried out; and ‘Pre-treatment,’ where treatment is planned. In a mixed method study, we applied the MPT to examine shame, avoidance and concealment through secret keeping as processes impacting decisions made by people with problem debt about advice seeking during the ‘Appraisal’ and ‘Help-Seeking’ intervals. Previous work has shown that over-indebtedness is associated with feelings of financial shame and conscious avoidance (Gladstone et al., 2021) and concealment behaviors (Moorehouse et al., 2023). Our studies will examine whether those psychological processes help explain and predict delays in debt-advice seeking.

Study 1: Study 1 was an exploratory qualitative interview study designed to examine the psychological factors that might impact on timely debt advice-seeking. Twelve over-indebted individuals who were clients of a not-for-profit debt advice agency were purposively sampled for interview once they had agreed on a solution to their debt problems with their debt advisor. The MPT was used in constructing a semi-structured interview guide. Thus, questions were included about processes taking place primarily during the ‘Appraisal’ and ‘Help-Seeking’ intervals.

Study 1 Results: Reflexive thematic analysis underpinned by a relativist ontological approach to inquiry revealed that three overarching themes were consistent across the twelve interviews. Participants experiencing shame due to their over-indebtedness was the first theme, and shame was the most prominent psychological emotion uncovered as negatively influencing on decisions to seek timely debt advice. Experiencing shame appeared to lead to the dysfunctional behaviors of the second and third themes of conscious avoidance and concealment through keeping indebtedness secret. These contributing psychological factors are similar to those discovered to cause delays in advice-seeking in the ‘Appraisal’ interval in the MPT, following discovery of symptoms of ill health. The results of Study 1 suggest that the MPT may be a useful framework to guide investigation of delays in debt advice seeking, and that people explain delays in seeking advice in terms of psychological processes involving shame, avoidance, and secret keeping.

Study 2: To test a model of processes occurring in the ‘Appraisal’ interval in the MPT, we are currently running a study where, in addition to estimating how long it took them to seek debt advice once they realized they were over-indebted, 160 over-indebted participants are completing measures of shame, financial shame, avoidance, financial avoidance and concealment through secret keeping and financial secret keeping (concealment of over-indebtedness through secret keeping). We hypothesize that levels of financial shame will predict delays in seeking debt advice and that the association will be mediated by levels of financial avoidance and financial concealment (keeping indebtedness secret). We anticipate that data collection which is ongoing will be completed by February 2025.

Conclusions: The results of Study 1 suggest that over-indebted individuals explain delays in advice seeking in terms of shame, avoidance and concealment through secret keeping. The results of Study 2 will test a model based on these explanations and will reveal whether the effects of financial shame on delay are mediated by financial avoidance and financial concealment. Study 1 also reveals the utility of the MPT when trying to understand financial help-seeking behavior. Based on these results we intend to develop psychologically based interventions to help over-indebted consumers overcome barriers to debt advice access and engagement.

References Moorhouse, M., Goode, M., Cotte, J., & Widney, J. (2023). Helping those that hide: Anticipated stigmatization drives concealment and a destructive cycle of debt. Journal of Marketing Research, 60(6), 1135-1153.

Gladstone, J. J., Jachimowicz, J. M., Greenberg, A. E., & Galinsky, A. D. (2021). Financial shame spirals: How shame intensifies financial hardship. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 167, 42-56.

Scott, S. E., Walter, F. M., Webster, A., Sutton, S., & Emery, J. (2013). The model of pathways to treatment: conceptualization and integration with existing theory. British journal of health psychology, 18(1), 45-65.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how economic incentives embedded in unemployment insurance (UI) scheme affect job search behaviour and unemployment duration. Using micro-level data from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (2017–2022), we exploit natural experiments created by kinks and discontinuities in the UI system to estimate causal effects.

To identify behavioural responses, we apply a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) and Regression Kink Design (RKD). The RD design is considered one of the closest approaches to a randomized trial in non-experimental settings, as it assigns treatment based on a cut-off point in a continuous baseline variable, which is months of UI contributions in our analysis. Individuals just to the right and left of the threshold are assumed to be exchangeable, similar to random assignment. Any observed discontinuity in the relationship between the assignment variable and the outcome, such as duration of unemployment, is therefore interpreted as a causal effect.

In addition to RD, we employ RKD to estimate behavioural responses to economic incentives. RKD exploits changes in the slope of a policy function, the relationship between benefit size and previous wage in our case, to identify causal effects. By observing how unemployment duration responds to these policy kinks, we can recover key behavioural parameters, such as the elasticity of job search effort with respect to benefit generosity.

We examine the impact of benefit duration by comparing individuals who qualify for 180 versus 270 days and those for 270 versus 360 days. Our findings indicate that extending benefits from 180 to 270 days increases unemployment duration by approximately 20 days, consistent with forward-looking job search behaviour. However, no significant effects are found when extending benefits beyond 270 days. For benefit size, we use RKD to analyze how variations in the upper and lower ceilings of UI payments influence unemployment duration. The results suggest no statistically significant impact, indicating that individuals’ job search efforts respond more to time constraints than to financial incentives.

These findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that while moderate extensions in UI duration influence unemployment spells, additional extensions and changes in benefit levels do not significantly alter search behaviour. The study provides empirical insights into the design of optimal UI policies that balance income support with incentives for re-employment.

ABSTRACT. Article 123 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is one of the most important labor laws. This article establishes the rights and obligations of workers and employers in Mexico, dividing its provisions into two main sections: Section A and Section B. Specifically, point two of Section A is aimed at the "protection of working women," primarily concerning maternity and occupational health. Similarly, Article 170 of the Federal Labor Law states that working women are entitled to a “leave” of six weeks before and six weeks after childbirth, totaling twelve weeks of maternity leave. Regarding breastfeeding, working mothers have the right to two daily breaks, each lasting half an hour, to feed their children in a suitable and clean place designated by the employer. During the prenatal and postnatal leave period, women are entitled to receive their full salary and retain their job along with all associated rights. This topic is highly relevant, as data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) indicate that in the first quarter of 2024, the economic participation rate of women aged 15 and older was 46%. Meanwhile, the average age for a first pregnancy among women in Mexico is 21 years. Additionally, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) reports that seven out of ten women participating in the labor market are mothers. Research indicates that the transition to motherhood is associated with significant brain, physiological, endocrinological, and behavioral changes that begin during pregnancy and persist in the postpartum period and long term. The literature on postpartum cognitive function changes is grouped into at least three perspectives: 1. Research suggesting that postpartum women experience "mental fog" (mommy brain/placenta brain). 2. Studies indicating that the decline in cognitive function is a stereotype associated with this stage of women's lives and that the perception of "mental fog" or "cognitive decline" has not been proven. 3. Research supporting the idea that there is no cognitive loss in the postpartum period but rather strengthened and new cognitive strategies. Based on this information, the following question arises: Are women physically and mentally healthy enough to return to work 40 days after giving birth? Thus, the objective of this study is to assess the cognitive functions of women 40 days postpartum. Additionally, another goal is to shed light on the current labor conditions in Mexico for postpartum working women and the physical and mental health challenges they face. In the long run, this study aims to propose public policy recommendations to improve the conditions of women returning to work after childbirth. To achieve this objective, the study will assess the cognitive functions of women 40 days postpartum, as well as the characteristics of their work environments. Reliable and validated instruments will be used. The sample size will depend on access to women who meet these criteria, and statistical analyses will be determined based on the collected sample size (N).

ABSTRACT. Various studies show that decisions are often affected by relative price differences even in situations where economic logic implies that only absolute price differences are relevant, a behavior that was called "relative thinking" (Azar, 2007). Tversky and Kahneman (1981) demonstrated this behavior by asking people whether they were willing to drive 20 minutes to save $5 on a calculator, when they were buying a jacket and a calculator. They found that 68% of the subjects were willing to make the trip when the jacket’s price was $125 and the calculator’s price was $15. However, when the prices were switched ($15 jacket and $125 calculator), only 29% were willing to make the same 20-minute effort to save the same $5. That is, although the economic trade-off is identical and therefore should lead to the same decision, people are affected by the relative savings (what percentage discount is given on the calculator), which should be irrelevant. This result was later replicated with various changes, but still with hypothetical scenarios and generally about the trade-off of spending time to save money by going to a different store. Azar (2011) showed that people who consider differentiated goods and services also exhibit relative thinking and are affected by the relative price difference when only the absolute price difference should matter. Relative thinking in which certain parts of the incentive scheme are compared to other parts in a manner that deviates from conventional economic wisdom may occur in mixed compensation schemes that include both a fixed part and a variable part that depends on performance. Such compensation schemes are very common. Many workers in the financial sector’ salespeople and managers in various industries receive a base salary and a performance-based bonus. Consequently, it is important to know whether in the context of mixed compensation schemes people exhibit relative thinking. Studying this may assist firms in choosing how to plan the fixed and variable parts in workers' compensation schemes. In addition, many economic experiments also offer a mixed compensation scheme because they have performance-based incentives and a fixed show-up fee, and therefore knowing whether relative thinking exists in this context can also help to design the payment schemes in experiments. It seems reasonable to expect to observe relative thinking in the context of compensation. The trade-off of a worker getting paid for a task, when having to decide how many tasks to complete, is between time and money, similar to the studies discussed above that examined going to another store to save on a good's purchase and found relative thinking. In addition, worker compensation is the price of labor, and since relative thinking exists with other prices, we may expect to find it also regarding the price of labor. We attempt to show relative thinking in the context of mixed compensation schemes (which include a fixed payment and a pay-for-performance payment) with real incentives and find evidence for relative thinking. Subjects are offered to do real-effort tasks of finding letters on pages and all of them are paid the same amount for every correct answer. However, there are two versions that differ in the fixed payment that is added. Effort was lower when the fixed payment was higher. This is explained by relative thinking: the higher fixed payment makes the per-task payment seem smaller compared to it, and therefore results in less effort. We also find some connection between the behavior in the experiment and the decision-making style of the subjects (measured on scales of intuitive, rational, and spontaneous). Subjects with more spontaneous decision-making style make less effort in the experiment. Subjects with more intuitive decision-making style are less affected by relative thinking. Our study offers the first demonstration of relative thinking with financial incentives, and the first in the context of mixed compensation schemes.

ABSTRACT. This research investigated the effects of caregiving workload and leisure time on mental health, with a particular focus on gender and socioeconomic differences. Under the new presidential administration of Claudia Sheinbaum, gender issues have gained significant attention in political discourse, particularly in the context of mental health. Our findings revealed that women reported lower levels of emotional well-being compared to men, a disparity that can be attributed to structural inequalities embedded within social and cultural systems that perpetuate oppression. The unequal division of labor emerged as a critical factor contributing to this disparity, with women disproportionately responsible for caregiving activities. This imbalance resulted in a greater overall workload for women, significantly limiting their opportunities for leisure and self-care, which in turn adversely affected their mental health. The implementation of a National Care System was proposed as a potential solution to alleviate the caregiving burden on women, thereby promoting their well-being through improved access to necessary services and resources. To address these issues, we formulated the following research question: What is the effect of caregiving workload and leisure time on mental health, considering differences by gender and socioeconomic status? Our analysis utilized public databases in Mexico, including the National Survey for the Care System (ENASIC), the National Time Use Survey (ENUT), and the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT). We employed a multiple regression model to analyze the relationships between caregiving responsibilities, leisure time, and mental health outcomes. The statistical analysis yielded several significant results. First, we found that increased caregiving workload was associated with lower mental health scores for women, indicating that the burden of care negatively impacted their emotional well-being. Additionally, our analysis revealed that women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experienced even greater declines in mental health due to caregiving responsibilities compared to their higher socioeconomic counterparts. This suggests that socioeconomic status plays a critical role in moderating the effects of caregiving on mental health. Furthermore, we discovered that leisure time had a protective effect on mental health outcomes. Women who reported higher levels of leisure time exhibited better emotional well-being, highlighting the importance of self-care opportunities in mitigating the adverse effects of caregiving responsibilities. The interaction between caregiving workload and leisure time revealed that women who struggled to balance these demands were at an increased risk for mental health issues. The implications of our findings are substantial for public policy. The evidence supports the need for a comprehensive National Care System that addresses the unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities and promotes gender equity in care work. By ensuring access to support services and resources for caregivers, particularly women, policymakers can foster environments conducive to self-care and improved mental health outcomes. Moreover, our research underscores the necessity for institutional and governmental support in implementing policies that facilitate shared caregiving responsibilities between genders. This approach not only empowers women but also contributes to broader societal goals of gender equality and enhanced mental health across populations. In conclusion, this study provides critical insights into the relationship between caregiving workload, leisure time, and mental health among women in Mexico. By addressing these disparities through targeted policy interventions, we can promote better mental health outcomes and enhance overall well-being for caregivers. The establishment of a National Care System represents a vital step toward achieving these objectives and fostering a more equitable society.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic has led many organizations to navigate the complexities of remote work implementation, balancing the preferences of both management and employees. Academic research predominantly supports remote work, with a comprehensive meta-analysis by Gajendran et al. (2024) concluding that remote work is comparable to in-office work across various aspects, and even often presenting significant advantages. The only notable exception identified in previously mentioned meta-study is the heightened sense of isolation experienced by remote workers.

In practice, companies have adopted diverse strategies regarding remote work policies. For instance, Amazon mandates that employees return to the office five days a week starting January 2, 2025 (Amazon is …, 2024), while Bolt requires in-office attendance for at least two days per week (Bolt CEO…, 2024). Conversely, Spotify allows remote work and just encourages teams to meet in the office occasionally to foster teamwork (Our employees…, 2024). The emphasis on teamwork and a sense of belonging are critical reasons organizations are encouraging employees to return to the office (Embracing change…, n.d). This concern is justified because excessive isolation can lead to feelings of inadequate support (Sardeshmukh et al., 2012; Mann et al., 2002). However, finding an appropriate balance is essential, as the saying “the more, the better” does not always hold true in context of communication (van Zoonen et al., 2021; Mann et al., 2002).

This study concentrates on finding suitable balance in frequency of teamwork considering various combinations of face-to-face and virtual teamwork (daily, several times a week, a few times a month or less, and not at all). Additionally, the study will address the topic of motivation, which has been underexplored in the context of remote work and was also not covered in Gajendran et al.’s (2024) meta-analysis. Companies noticed during the COVID-19 pandemic that especially motivation significantly declined, even in technology companies that previously had considerable experience with remote work (Colak & Saridogan, 2023). Efforts to combat this decline often involved increasing communication (Colak & Saridogan, 2023), which, as mentioned earlier, can produce mixed results. Here, a solution could be taking into account proactive motivation encompassing three aspects proposed by Parker et al. (2010): “energized to”, “reason to”, and “can do”. Assuring high level of proactive motivation supports both teamwork and broader motivational dynamics (Parker et al 2010) and has shown to contribute to lower level of conflicts among team members (Ontrup, Kluge, 2022).

This research aims to find out what frequency of face-to-face and virtual teamwork enhances (proactive) motivation among employees while preventing feelings of isolation and relationship strain.

Consequently, this research unveils three key areas. First, it examines the extent to which virtual teamwork can substitute for in-person teamwork, particularly from a motivational perspective. Second, it seeks to determine the optimal frequency of different types of teamwork (in-person and virtual) that can be conducted without diminishing employee motivation. Third, the study tries to find a balance between possible tensions in the relationships from too frequent communication and preventing feelings of isolation among team members.

Data was collected from the Estonian Salary Information Agency (ESIA) dataset, which encompasses a wide selection of different sectors and occupations across all regions of the country. In Autumn 2024, 6,670 respondents participated in the ESIA study. From these respondents, individuals who were employed at the time of the study were selected, specifically those who lived and worked in Estonia. Individuals who did not engage in teamwork, whether face-to-face or virtually, were excluded from the analysis. Hence, the final sample consisted of 4,482 participants.

To assess the general level of motivation, the statement “I am motivated to do my job well” was utilized. The approach by Parker et al. (2010) was employed, indicating that proactive motivation consists of three factors: • Energized to: Three statements from Warr et al. (2014), with an example statement: “I feel inspired when I think about teamwork.” • Reason to: Three statements from Gagné et al. (2015), with an example statement: “I put effort into my work with my team because what I do in my work is exciting.” • Can do: Six statements from Rigotti et al. (2008), with an example statement: “Whatever comes my way in my job, I can usually handle it.”

Isolation was measured with the item: “I felt that I am alone with my work-related worries” and relational strain with the item “I was bothered by strained relationships between co-workers.”

For statistical analysis, correlation analysis (using the Spearman coefficient) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed, with a significance level set at 0.05.

The results of correlation analysis indicate that employees are more motivated to do their jobs when they have higher results in all proactive motivation factors: “reason to”, “energized to” and “can do”. Consequently, enjoyment of work tasks and teamwork itself and confidence in oneself are all supporting general motivation. Conversely, motivation is negatively affected when individuals feel isolated with work-related concerns, as well as when relationships among employees are strained.

The results of ANOVA revealed that it is not necessary for teams to be physically present in the same space every day to be motivated and show good levels of proactive motivation. In fact, spending too much time together can have its drawbacks, such as increasing strains in relationships which in turn decrease proactive motivation and motivation in general. Actually, to maintain motivation and keep the spark alive, it is sufficient for teams to meet a few times a week or month, or even less frequently. However, purely virtual teamwork cannot replace face-to-face interactions from motivational point of view and can also lead to feelings of isolation which in turn reduces (proactive)motivation.

These findings provide organizations with considerable flexibility in making decisions regarding remote work and in-office arrangements based on their preferences. Furthermore, this study advocates for employing versatile combinations of different work locations, as motivation and teamwork do not suffer from such flexibility.

Note: The reference list is provided in the attached file

ABSTRACT. Dark patterns are online platform designs which use insights from behavioural psychology to influence consumer behaviour away from their best interests, and towards those of the platform designer. In recent years, dark patterns have been identified in areas such as data privacy, online shopping and social media (Mathur et al., 2019; Nouwens et al., 2020; Schaffner et al., 2022), drawing the attention of international regulatory bodies (Competition and Markets Authority, 2022; European Union, 2022; Federal Trade Commission, 2022).

In the online gambling space, government bodies have indicated their awareness of manipulative platform designs (Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 2023), but note a paucity of evidence as the reason behind regulatory inaction. As more users move towards online gambling platforms, and as these platforms become more sophisticated in their behaviourally-informed designs, regulators are presented with significant challenges in keeping pace with these advancements (Wardle et al., 2024). Understanding how dark patterns influence behaviour across key demographics is necessary to inform these regulatory bodies, facilitating effective policy and harm prevention practices. The present review therefore aims to provide a comprehensive overview of dark patterns in online gambling, synthesise knowledge in the field by mapping existing research to a transdisciplinary framework, and to identify directions for future research.

In total, thirteen articles published on the topic of dark patterns in online gambling were identified, consisting of seven grey-literature reports, and six academic articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Across the literature records, dark patterns were referred to by a variety of terms, reflecting semantic ambiguity. Dark patterns are found to be evident across the user experience on online gambling platforms, however the lack of consistent terminology to describe the design of these platforms creates unnecessary complexity. In the present review, the dark patterns identified in the online gambling literature records were categorised according to the (Gray et al., 2024) framework, namely into the strategies of; sneaking, obstruction, interface interference, forced action, and social engineering.

Sneaking strategies on online gambling platforms take the form of platform designs which hide information, particularly with regard to safer gambling tools, warning labels, and gameplay information. Gambling management pages are difficult to find, with evidence of small fonts and dark colours which could prevent users from finding such tools (Behavioural Insights Team, 2018, 2022, 2024) Similarly, warning labels during gameplay are displayed in small fonts with the lowest possible text boldness (Newall et al., 2022).

Obstruction strategies are evident in the form of unnecessary steps required to complete user actions, for example in setting up deposit limits, potentially dissuading users from implementing protective measures (Behavioural Insights Team, 2024). Immortal accounts are also implemented as a common obstructive practice by gambling platforms. Specifically, on several platforms, users have to contact customer support in order to close their account, it is difficult to find information on how to close an account, and accounts can be easily re-opened (Behavioural Insights Team, 2022; Citizens Advice, 2021; European Commission, 2022)

Interface interference is the most documented form of dark patterns in online gambling, with sub-optimal defaults being particularly prevalent. These defaults exploit the anchoring effect, through the suggestion of extremely high deposit limits (up to £10 million in drop-down text boxes) or offering “no limit” as the default option (Behavioural Insights Team, 2018, 2024; Citizens Advice, 2021). Quick deposit and stake default amounts often exceed the minimum required, and on several platforms bet slips are auto-filled with previously staked amounts (Behavioural Insights Team, 2018, 2022). Forced action and social engineering strategies are less commonly documented within the literature, with examples identified such as immediate prompts to bet again after placing a bet, with the presence of countdown clocks potentially inducing a perceived sense of urgency, and time limited offers in marketing communications similarly employing urgency and scarcity claims (Behavioural Insights Team, 2022).

In the sole field trial in the literature to date, variations of deposit limit designs are tested, with researchers finding that current designs lead to deposit limits set by customers at higher levels than they would otherwise be, and that by redesigning the deposit limit tool to remove high anchors and include a free-text box, deposit limits were reduced by 45% (Behavioural Insights Team, 2021). Despite these findings, the recommended design changes have yet to be implemented by any online gambling platform. The reluctance of operators to implement this safer design is echoed in their hesitancy to collaborate with researchers in sharing data to test such designs, an issue noted across several of the included literature records. The sharing of proprietary data between operators and research would allow for high-quality, externally valid research to take place, but will likely only occur through mandates requiring operators to do so.

Without the cooperation of gambling operators, future research testing the influence of dark patterns on consumer behaviour must stem from independent lab experiments, taking the form of experimental designs which as closely as possible mirror real-life gambling platforms. In particular, susceptibility to dark patterns across vulnerable demographics, such as digital literacy, age, sociodemographic status, and self-reported gambling severity score should be analysed to identify at-risk groups, around whom interventions and harm reduction strategies can be designed and implemented. Such research can fill the considerable gap of quantitative evidence in the field, informing regulatory bodies who can take action, should it been found that current platform designs exhibit dark patterns which lead to unnecessary harms among vulnerable consumers.

In this presentation, I intend to outline the findings of the present review according to the key themes of this work; ambiguous terminology used across dark patterns literature, difficulty in accessing operator data, and the results of the categorisation of dark patterns in online gambling under a transdisciplinary framework, the first to do so in this field.

ABSTRACT. In this presentation, I analyze psychology students’ (N=260) reasoning in two classic judgment problems by Kahneman and Tversky (1984, problems 8-11) regarding theatre and lottery tickets. These problems have often led to framing effects where respondents make different judgments depending on how the economic information has been presented. I present a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of students’ free-text justifications for the choice they had made, focusing on the interplay of the script as presented in the problem text, and the respondents’ own experience in similar situations. In the theatre ticket situation, the respondents often (a) reinterpreted the situation (e.g., it is not possible to lose a ticket because everyone uses electronic tickets these days), (b) presented formally similar emotional arguments in favour of „yes” and „no” decisions (e.g., not buying the ticket as a form of self-punishment for having been careless, or buying the ticket to avoid a double punishment), and (c) presented conjectural arguments (e.g., I had decided to see the performance, so I will). Weighing „for” and „against” arguments was relatively rare, and in most of these cases, emotional arguments were compared to economic counterarguments. In lottery ticket problem, there was no framing effect in our data, and the decisions were often grounded in values and attitudes. Many respondents argued that they never participate in lotteries or gambles because, e.g., „the house always wins”, without even considering the prospect of the gamble/lottery given in the problem. Another group of respondents presented an emotional argument for participating in the gamble, referring to the feelings of risk and excitement. Finally, a minority of the respondents based their decision on the prospect of the gamble. It is argued that such qualitative analysis helps pinpoint the cognitive processes in judgment problems, and that seemingly economic dilemmas are often „solved” referring to emotions or generalized attitudes, ignoring the economic content of the problem. I argue that rather than being based on pre-existing heuristics and biases, the cognitive processes resulting in framing effects in these and similar problems can be modelled as autocommunication (Lotman, 1990). In interpreting the problem, respondents often actively deny or ignore a part of the given information, resulting in a suboptimal (in economic sense) decision. In justifying their decision, respondents often juxtapose different self-positions: their current and anticipated feelings, personal values, beliefs and experiences, as well as anticipated reactions of others (not mentioned in the problem). Reflecting this internal dialogue, the resulting decision is often ambiguous or conditional, whereas only a minority of respondents arrive at a decision by calculating the prospects of different decisions. Finally, I argue that methods typically used in analyzing literary texts can shed light on cognitive processes in solving judgment problems, and, possibly, everyday reasoning.

References Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1984). Choices, values, and frames. American Psychologist, 39(4), 341–350. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.39.4.341 Lotman, Y. M. 1990. Autocommunication: ‘I’ and ‘Other’ as addressees. Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture. (Shukman, Ann trans.; Eco, Umberto, intr.), Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 20–35.

ABSTRACT. Gambling harms are being increasingly recognised as an important public health issue, and the regulation of gambling has become an important concern for policymakers. A large proportion of gambling activity takes place through online consumer accounts with betting firms. These accounts are increasingly accessed via an app, which allows instant access to betting opportunities through smartphones. Gamblers may have multiple accounts and apps with different firms. In this study, our aim is to gain insight into how gamblers interact with their accounts and apps, providing insight into an individual’s whole “gambling world” whereas industry stakeholders hold only a snapshot of a customer’s online interaction with their products.

Key research questions we seek to answer are: What motivates the opening of an initial and subsequent gambling accounts? How do people use and interact with gambling apps? What direct marketing (e.g. notifications, emails) are they exposed to? What triggers them to gamble? Have they encountered sludge when trying to withdraw winnings from their accounts? Have they (successfully or unsuccessfully) tried to close accounts, limit spending or self-exclude? What are the associations between these patterns and gambling harms?

We currently have an online survey in the field in Ireland to answer these research questions. We will finish data collection once we have recruited a nationally representative sample of 1000 participants. The survey uses various techniques from behavioural science to aid recall (e.g. by putting the onus for aggregation on the researcher rather than the respondent) and limit socially desirable responding (e.g. by using neutral, fact-based questions). We also use the Event Reconstruction Method (Kahneman et al., 2004, Schwarz et al., 2009) for memory prompting. Specifically, we ask participants to reconstruct recent gambling episodes in detail, reporting their specific gambling behaviour, affective states, and contextual factors during a given episode.

We aim to complete data collection by mid-March, and to have preliminary results by mid-April. The findings from this study will have implications for the regulation of online gambling and the treatment of those suffering from gambling harms.

References: Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science, 306(5702), 1776-1780. Schwarz, N., Kahneman, D., & Xu, J. (2009). Global and episodic reports of hedonic experience. In R. Belli, D. Alwin, & F. Stafford (Eds.), Using calendar and diary methods in life events research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

ABSTRACT. The topic of money as a vehicle of deep meanings that go beyond its purely economic functions has been widely debated. The psychological nature of money, in fact, influences individuals in several ways, from daily financial resource management strategies to the level of job satisfaction. However, research on vulnerable populations, such as incarcerated individuals or addicts, remains very limited, despite the pivotal role of money in orienting personal histories of addiction and social marginalization. This study explores the affective and symbolic meanings of money among incarcerated individuals diagnosed with gambling or substance use disorders. Specifically, two constructs were investigated: the social representation of money and the measurement of attitudes toward money. Social representations are forms of knowledge shared within a group, arising from social interaction and communication, and reflecting the specific socio-economic-cultural context in which individuals are situated. Attitudes towards money, on the other hand, are connected to the deep meanings that people attribute to it. A secondary aim of the study is to compare these findings with samples from the Italian general population to understand potential differences in money perception across groups. The research was conducted as a collaboration between the Catholic University of Milan and the Ser.D. inside the Milano-Bollate Penitentiary Institute (an Addiction Prison Service focused on therapeutical programs related to substance abuse and problem gambling). Data were collected through paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Qualitative data were gathered to investigate social representations by means of a free association task, while likert scales were employed to assess impulsiveness, money attitudes, and problem gambling. As concerns the social representation of money, prototypical analysis and correspondence analysis were performed. T-test and ANOVAs were used to conduct comparative analyses between the incarcerated population and the Italian general population to identify similarities and divergences in the meaning of money. Findings suggest that money assumes a rich symbolic role in the incarcerated group, often associated with themes of pleasure and social status, immediate desires and greed. Compared to the general population, the incarcerated group exhibited more polarized attitudes toward money, disengaged from future planning and stability. This present-focused and polarized view of money among inmates could represent a potential drive to crimes or a possible obstacle to social reintegration. By understanding the unique money attitudes within this group, policymakers and practitioners can develop more effective support strategies to foster financial health, crime desistance and social reintegration, thereby promoting the overall well-being of inmates and their families.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents the results of a lab experiment that explores behavioral patterns in common-pool resource settings when participants consider future generations, with a particular focus on the role of information availability. The experiment examines decision-making in the intergenerational harvesting of renewable resources under common management scenarios and investigates how varying levels of information influence resource use.

In the experiment, different groups of four individuals harvest renewable resources over ten periods. At the end of each cycle, the remaining stock constitutes the initial resource endowment for the subsequent group. The study includes two treatment conditions in which different groups sequentially replace each other in a common-pool resource game, where the resource stock regenerates at a constant growth rate. Intergenerational equity is operationalized as the amount of resources left unharvested by each group, thereby transferring them to the next generation.

The two treatments differ in the information provided to participants. In the first treatment, each generation is informed about both the amount of resources left by the previous generation and the initial resource stock available to that generation. In the second treatment, participants only receive information on the amount of resources left by the previous group and the knowledge that another group will follow. These two treatments (referred to as "with information" and "without information") are compared to a control condition where intergenerationality in resource management is absent.

The analysis focuses on how the ability to achieve optimal resource management and the different informative determinants influence intergenerational equity. The primary objective is to examine the factors that shape the intergenerational dynamics of resource harvesting and how detailed information on the previous generation’s resource stock may affect the behavior of the current generation toward its successors. By comparing harvesting decisions across treatments, we assess how participants react to different levels of intergenerational transparency.

The results indicate that the presence of moral values and obligations towards future groups generates a form of self-restraint, which partially mitigates resource overexploitation. Both treatment conditions exhibit significant differences compared to the control condition, suggesting that the mere awareness of future generations fosters more sustainable harvesting behaviors.

However, the provision of additional information does not appear to influence the behavior of the first generation managing the resource. Specifically, no significant differences emerge between the treatment where subsequent generations remain uninformed about the first generation’s initial stock and the treatment where this information is disclosed. Nonetheless, while the first generation remains unaffected, the availability of information appears to influence the harvesting patterns of subsequent generations.

This research contributes to the broader field of behavioral economics by shedding light on the mechanisms driving intergenerational decision-making in common-pool resource management. By demonstrating the role of moral considerations and information availability, the study enhances our understanding of sustainable resource use across generations. Moreover, it highlights the significance of intergenerational information flow in shaping long-term resource conservation strategies.

The findings suggest that while moral obligations alone can promote sustainable behaviors, the structured transmission of resource stock data may play a critical role in reinforcing cooperative behaviors in later generations. This knowledge is essential for designing policies and institutional frameworks that foster environmental responsibility and equitable resource distribution across time. Given the pressing global challenges related to resource depletion and climate change, this study underscores the importance of fostering intergenerational responsibility and cooperation to ensure the sustainable management of shared environmental resources.

ABSTRACT. This research investigates the impact of Chief Financial Officers’ (CFOs) psychological characteristics, in particular their Regulatory Focus (RF), on firm cash-holding policies, extending Upper Echelons Theory (UET) to CFOs, and highlighting their influence on firm policies. It also examines the moderating effects of managerial discretion and executive job demands. These insights can improve financial decision-making by addressing potential biases and guiding hiring and development processes, ultimately enhancing financial performance and contributing to broader economic stability and growth. Managers have always been key actors within firms (Neely et al., 2020). To understand why firms do what they do, and why they act differently, it is important to consider the biases and dispositions of their top executives as they make decisions for the firms (Bertrand and Schoar, 2003; Harrison and Malhotra, 2023). Based on the UET, executives make decisions based on their individual interpretations of the situations they encounter, shaped by their experiences, values, and personalities (Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Although all the top management teams are influential in firms’ decision-making, the existing literature has mostly focused on the psychological characteristics of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) (Biru et al., 2023; Eugster et al., 2024; Qian et al., 2024; Serfling, 2014; Shen et al., 2021), neglecting role-specific research on non-CEO executives (Gupta et al., 2020; Uhde et al., 2017). CFOs, regarded as the second most important executives after CEOs (Hoitash et al., 2016; Caglio et al., 2018; Datta and Iskandar-Datta, 2014), have vast and critical responsibilities in the firm's financial context (Anderson et al., 2024; Barbi et al., 2024; Zorn, 2004). As the importance of finance continues to grow, CFOs have assumed an elevated role (Schopohl et al., 2021). Financial decisions are pivotal in shaping firm strategies and performance, with cash-holding policies playing a critical role (Opler et al., 1999), serving as a financial buffer and ensuring liquidity (Ferreira and Vilela, 2004). Cash-holding policies are influenced by top-level executives, particularly CFOs (Bertrand and Schoar, 2003; Florackis and Sainani, 2018; Harrison and Malhotra, 2023). The existing literature on the influence of top-executives’ characteristics on the levels of firm cash-holding is focused on the CEOs demographics and their relationship with cash-holding policies. Results reveal, for instance, that optimistic CEOs hold less cash (Deshmukh et al., 2021), those with backgrounds in business or science/engineering have different cash holdings (Mun et al., 2020), older CEOs hold more cash (Bertrand and Schoar, 2003; Orens and Reheul, 2013), and CEOs with financial expertise hold less cash (Custódio and Metzger, 2014). However, many other characteristics could influence financial policy within a firm (Orens and Reheul, 2013), such as RF, which have been related to individuals’ economic decisions (Florack et al., 2013). Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) (Higgins, 1998, 1997) posits that individuals regulate their behaviors according to either a promotion or a prevention system, significantly shaping their judgments, choices, and behavior. Individuals with a promotion-focused tendency pursue gains, while those with a prevention-focused tendency seek to avoid losses (Ewe et al., 2020; Florack and Hartmann, 2007; Magendans et al., 2017). CEO’s RF has been linked to the level of engagement in exploration and exploitation (Kammerlander et al., 2015), firms’ engagement in stakeholder initiatives (Gamache et al., 2020), research and development spending (Scoresby et al., 2021), entrepreneurial orientation (Huang et al., 2023), firm acquisitions (Gamache et al., 2015), and overall firm performance (Wallace et al., 2010). These findings underscore the significant influence of executives’ RF on a firm’s financial decisions and outcomes. The body of evidence highlights the substantial influence of top executives’ RF on firm financial decisions and outcomes, suggesting a similar impact on CFOs’ decision-making processes. A strong promotion focus is characterized by traits such as high levels of achievement, perseverance, openness to new ideas, and a readiness to embrace risks (Lanaj et al., 2012). Individuals driven by a promotion focus are primarily motivated by growth-oriented aspirations, leading them to maximize opportunities (Gu et al., 2013) and avoid missing potential gains (Gamache et al., 2015). Moreover, CFOs’ risk incentives have been shown to shape their financial decisions (Chava and Purnanandam, 2010), potentially influencing cash-holding policies. Given the propensity of promotion-focused individuals to pursue riskier ventures (Florack and Hartmann, 2007) and growth opportunities, we hypothesize that CFOs with a promotion focus will maintain lower levels of cash holdings. Prevention-focused individuals inherently adopt a risk-averse approach, prioritizing the mitigation of potential losses and ensuring stability (Higgins, 1997). Additionally, a stronger prevention focus is associated with less financial risk tolerance (Magendans et al., 2017), indicating a propensity for less risky and more conservative tactics in goal pursuit (Florack et al., 2013). Due to the prevention-focused individuals’ inclination towards risk aversion, prioritization of financial security, and adherence to conservative financial practices, we hypothesize that CFOs with a prevention focus prefer to maintain higher levels of cash reserves, as a precautionary measure against unforeseen challenges and economic downturns (Guariglia and Yang, 2018; Magendans et al., 2017). This aligns with existing literature suggesting that cash-holdings inherently involve lower levels of risk (Tong, 2010). We also explore the moderating role of managerial discretion and executive job demands. Managerial discretion, the latitude of action top management has in making strategic choices (Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick and Finkelstein, 1987), emerges as a critical factor in moderating the relationship between management characteristics, such as RF, and cash-holding policies within firms. In addition, executive job demands, defined as “the degree to which an executive experience their job as difficult or challenging” (Hambrick et al., 2005, p. 473), shape managers’ decision-making by commanding them to rely on their personality and past experiences under high demands (Hambrick et al., 2007; Popli and Raithatha, 2023). Therefore, we hypothesize that CFOs with greater discretion or under higher job demands will exhibit stronger RF-driven impacts on cash-holding. To test these hypotheses, data are being collected from CFOs across Portugal through a combination of experimental and cross-sectional studies. By leveraging the strengths of both experimental and non-experimental methods, this approach strengthens the validity and reliability of the research findings.

ABSTRACT. Crises pose unanticipated challenges and bring about the need for novel policy solutions. Oftentimes, uncertain times require innovative solutions that help governments and public organizations to influence the trajectory of the crisis or mitigate the damage. Public sector experiments offer an opportunity to test out novel solutions before they are applied on a wider scale. Given that, experimental policymaking could be viewed as a useful approach in crisis governance. However, conducting policy experiments during crisis can face various challenges. This article takes a broad view on crises: instead of focusing on certain types of crises (e.g economic or health crises), this study focuses on crises as unexpected turbulence in an organisation's environment. A crisis is “a serious threat to the basic structures or the fundamental values and norms of a social system, which – under time pressure and uncertain circumstances – necessitates making critical decisions” (Rosenthal et al 1989, p. 10). Although crises present private sector organisations as well as governments with „windows of opportunity“ (Hooren, et al. 2014) to enforce policy changes, profound changes are argued usually not to happen during turbulent conditions (Hooren, et al. 2014; Onno, 2024) and „fundamental change in the aftermath of an exogenous shock is the exception rather than the rule“ (Hooren, et al. 2014). Although experimentation helps to gather evidence-based information and supports organisational learning, there is only limited research about the role of experiments in turbulent environments, especially in providing crisis response. Drawing on the literatures on experimental policymaking, public sector innovation, and crisis management, the theoretical part of the paper outlines the key paradoxes that experimentation during cries faces and what the implications of these paradoxes are for experimental policymaking. These paradoxes include: (1) crises require fast responses, experiments need time; (2) Crises decrease tolerance for failure, experiments entail failure; (3) Experiments need resources (e.g cognitive space, people, funding) but during crises these become scarce; (4) crises provide „windows of opportunity“ to learn and innovate but transformations after the crises are rather rare. In the empirical part of the paper we probe – drawing on interviews conducted with 66 public officials in Estonia and Finland – how these paradoxes have been perceived to influence experimentation during crises and what the implications of these paradoxes are. We find that, crises change the priorities of governments and public organizations and induce ad hoc experimental solutions specifically tailored for crisis response. However, other experiments, such as ongoing experiments for anticipatory governance, may be put on hold or cancelled. We argue that, overall, although crises create a pressure to innovate, the timeframes and uncertainty experiments entail can make it challenging to use experimentation as part of crisis governance. Also, despite turbulent times increase civil servants’ willingness to take risks, less tolerance for failure is perceived and not enough safe space to experiment. If experiments are undertaken during a crisis, they tend to be short, limited in scope, and follow the logic of design thinking rather than randomized controlled trials.

Literature: Hooren, F.V., Kaasch, A. and Starke, P., 2014. The shock routine: Economic crisis and the nature of social policy responses. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(4), pp.605-623. Onno, K., 2024. The Role of Data Capabilities in Developing Public Sector Dynamic Capabilities: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Public Administration, pp.1-12. Rosenthal, U., Charles, M. T. & ′t Hart, P. (Eds.). (1989b). Coping with crises: The management of riots, disasters and terrorism. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.