A facet measure of money madness: A preliminary analyses of a new questionnaire

Abstract

This study reports on the development of a new, facet level questionnaire to measure "money madness" based on a well-established, four-factor model. It reviews the papers currently available to researchers on those with "money troubles" such as financial distress. In this study, 256 adult participants from diverse backgrounds, who were recruited online, completed a 52-item questionnaire designed to measure three facets of each of the four money factors: Security, Power, Love, and Freedom. They also completed a financial literacy questionnaire which had two factors. The internal reliability of the four money factors was satisfactory but this was not the case for all the facets. Factor analysis partly confirmed the hypothesized structure. Regressions indicated that associating money with power was the best predictor of financial literacy. The use of a facet or factor measure and necessary future theoretical and psychometric developments are discussed.

Spenders and savers, tightwads and spendthrifts: Individual correlates of personal ratings of being a spender or a saver.

“…There remains speculation as to why people become extreme, or compunctual spenders and savers, though there are a number of clinical speculations as to their origin and maintenance (Furnham & Horne, 2021). Equally, it is not clear how easy it is to change these beliefs or habits, though there are a number of books and programs dedicated to these issues (Ealy & Lesh, 1998).…”

“…None, however, we believe have focused specifically on the spender–saver dimension, as most looked at personality correlates of associating money with different issues like love, freedom, security, and power. Based on the clinical literature we believe savers are more emotional stable, planful, and successful than spenders (Furnham & Grover, 2021; Furnham & Horne, 2021). Thus, we hypothesized that spenders would be more Neurotic ( H 1 ), Extraverted ( H 2 ), and less Conscientiousness ( H 3 ) than savers.…”

“…Researchers from a number of disciplines—biology, economics, finance, marketing, psychology, psychiatry, sociology—are interested in whether people are naturally savers or spenders (Allom et al, 2018; Ashtiani et al, 2020; Carter, 2014; Carter & Gilovich, 2012, 2014; Cryder et al, 2008; Kappes et al, 2020; Kasser, 2011, 2016; Klontz & Britt, 2012; Klontz et al, 2014; Lastovicka et al, 1999; Okada & Hoch, 2004; Rick et al, 2008, 2014; Romal, & Kaplan, 1995; Tatzel, 2014; Tobol et al, 2020; Zaleskiewicz et al, 2013). Many are interested in “extreme” (pathological) types, how they got that way as well as how they can be persuaded to change their dysfunctional money-related beliefs and behaviors (Furnham, 2014; Furnham & Horne, 2021). Moreover, many are interested in the psychological consequences of how people spend their money (Aknin et al, 2013) and whether it makes them happier (Jin & Li, 2021; Thibault Landry et al, 2016) Others are interested in profiling people into “money-types,” in order to sell them a particular financial product or service (Furnham & Grover, 2021).…”

“…There is also a fast-growing literature on attitudes to, beliefs about, and uses of money (Dunn et al, 2008; Foster et al, 2009; Fünfgeld & Wang, 2009; Furnham, 1984, 1996, 2014; Sabri et al, 2018; Santos & Campos, 2019) and a number of measures of money attitudes have been developed (Furnham & Grover, 2020a, 2020b; Furnham & Horne, 2021; Klontz & Britt, 2012; Lay & Furnham, 2019). This study is about one specific money-related behavior pattern: The inclination to spend or save money.…”

Financial distress and money attitudes.

“…Perhaps the most interesting results are those shown in Table 3 which examines the role of general money attitudes and the FDI. There are now a growing number of studies which have demonstrated that money beliefs are associated with a wide range of financial and nonfinancial behaviors (Furnham & Horne, 2021). There is a consistent theme in the results of these studies which is supported here: those who associated money with security, but not generosity/love, freedom, and power/status seem to be more stable, successful, and happy.…”