Institute of Cognitive Psychology, Human and Social Development, University of Coimbra, Rua Do Colégio Novo, 3000-115, Coimbra, Portugal.
Department of Education and Psychology, William James Research Centre, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Psychol Res. 2021 Jul;85(5):2036-2046. doi: 10.1007/s00426-020-01372-7. Epub 2020 Jun 19.
In recent years, the financial world has become more complex and intricate. In this context, numeracy and, particularly, financial literacy, are seen as paramount in providing consumers with the knowledge and confidence required to take part in financial markets. Despite some indicative empirical findings, it is still to be ascertained how the two competences differentially contribute to the quality of decision-making in financial contexts. Furthermore, it is still unknown to what degree financial literacy and numeracy, taken as relevant mind-ware for financial decision-making, are effective in guarding against well-documented biases such as loss aversion and framing effects. This study aims to clarify these issues by employing an experimental task, conceived as an approximation to real-world decision-making involving the sale of shares. Our results suggest that numeracy and financial literacy affect decision-making differently in a pattern that, in part, runs counter to conventional economic theory. The data indicate that numeracy promotes a pattern of choices closer to economic rationality, while financial literacy can prove counterproductive and may amplify cognitive biases, namely framing effects and loss aversion. The outcomes are interpreted in light of dual-process theories, and the political implications discussed.
近年来，金融领域变得更加复杂和精细。在这种背景下，计算能力，特别是金融知识，被视为向消费者提供参与金融市场所需的知识和信心的关键。尽管有一些指示性的实证研究结果，但仍需要确定这两种能力如何在金融环境下的决策质量上产生不同的影响。此外，金融知识和计算能力作为金融决策的相关思维工具，在多大程度上能够有效防范损失厌恶和框架效应等有充分记录的偏见，目前还不得而知。本研究旨在通过采用一种实验任务来澄清这些问题，该任务被设想为一种接近涉及股票销售的实际决策的方法。我们的结果表明，计算能力和金融知识以一种与传统经济理论部分相悖的方式对决策产生不同的影响。数据表明，计算能力促进了一种更接近经济理性的选择模式，而金融知识可能适得其反，并可能放大认知偏差，即框架效应和损失厌恶。结果根据双过程理论进行了解释，并讨论了其政治影响。
