The reported studies utilized a wide-scale assessment of financial capability within the general population, with a large sample of 72 participants each with in-depth observations and interviews to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how people think about money. This investigation employs a comprehensive and systematic theoretical model that offers a more coherent approach of human behaviour (Michie et al., 2014). The study used a substantial sample, which was evenly sampled across geographic regions within the UK, across age and even socio-economic class. These observations provided a detailed insight into the factors that comprise the barriers and enablers of financial capability. These were systematically examined under specific interventions designed to modify behaviour for particular components of financial capability.
To the authors knowledge, this is to date the most large-scale in-depth assessment of financial capability behaviour within the UK through a qualitative investigation. The first study identified underlying mechanisms behind consumers poor financial decisions that left them struggling financially. The majority of consumers who struggle to monitor accounts are doing so due to an overreliance on mental accounting, although consumer’s reliance on mental accounting is well understood in the literature (Heath & Soll, 1996; Reinholtz, Bartels, & Parker, 2015; Thaler, 1985). A novel finding identified through the use of the mapping onto the COM-B framework, is the influence that the desire to maintain and increase ones perceived social rank on monetary consumption . It is shown that shopping behaviour can reduce negative affect (Edwards, 1993; Rick, Pereira & Burson, 2014), however here the findings offer a mechanistic understanding behind debilitating spending. The findings suggest that consumers spend to increase/maintain their social rank amongst peers. Maintenance and improvement of one’s social rank position was reinforced from affective reward, an emotional ‘hit’ that increased the weighting of social rank. This emotional hit codes for a dopamine release, which is the neurotransmitter associated with addiction and reward-seeking behaviour (Blum et al., 2012; Everitt & Robbins, 2005; Lawrence & Brooks, 2014; Murray et al., 2014). This finding provides a psychological understanding of the plausible underlying mechanisms behind overspending.
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The principle of purchasing into one’s social rank is not in itself sub-optimal, the sub-optimality is the extent to which the drive and cost to increase one’s social rank is greater than participants can afford (in both financial and other resources). This is also valid for goal-directedness, or lack thereof. Deficits in goal-directedness does not by itself constitute sub-optimal behaviour, this is the extent to which the lack of goal-directedness prevents individuals from reaching a stable financial position.
The enablers of a given behaviour characterises the required training and behavioural change techniques to be employed in future interventions, by targeting automatic motivation or processes (habit-based interventions), or increasing goal- directedness and self-control through reflective motivation (goal-setting interventions). The enablers to a given behaviour identify the types of reinforcements that promote such actions (i.e. reflective mechanisms for goal-setting behaviour), as well as the methods in which interventions should utilise, for instance providing feedback on outcome of behaviour.
The barriers of a given behaviour, identify the reinforcement driving the sub- optimal behaviour, the traps people fall into when attempting to shortcut financially sound behaviours; as well as the frequency with which they do so. These rewarding mechanisms enforce habit associations into memory (Wood & Rünger, 2016), leading to further execution of the behaviour. These rewards require little effort or contemplation from the individual, for instance affect has been shown to drive consumer purchase decisions (Garg, Wansink, & Inman, 2007).
This investigation identified that financial capability is dependent upon behavioural processes, not just knowledge structures. Secondly, social networks and psychological processes play a big role in financial capability. And finally, that becoming financial capable is dependent upon using a clear tangible attribute, such as savings.
73 Intervention design and function
SUMMARY
• A small pilot was run to examine in-depth assessment of the interventions. • Participants exhibited anxiety in the Substitution intervention, with even
more reluctance for the Checking intervention because they are concerned with tangible results for savings. Checking intervention was dropped due to the lack of resources available to refine and employ the intervention. • Data collection techniques result in moderate levels of adherence (73.75%)
but do show missing data and will require larger samples that would take a long time to procure.
• Current intervention structure is too expensive to roll out and will require some other forms of retention and data collection strategies.
• Retention strategies need to be readdressed for a new retention strategy given the larger sample of the randomised-controlled trial.
• Behavioural tool needs to be redesigned for a more efficient data collection system. A web-based expense tracker was designed to replace the
spreadsheet behavioural tool. This was to collect goal-setting data automatically.
• Automated emails will be sent to participants in the re-designed trial, with a link to the behavioural tools for both intervention groups.
74 5.1 Background
This chapter informs the reader how the findings from the study described in Chapter 3, informed the design of interventions to be evaluated against a control condition in a randomised-controlled trial (RCT), secondly, this chapter assesses the feasibility and acceptability of the RCT. The RCT trial is described in the next chapter.