Wei Xinyi, Zhou Kaiji, Zhou Huiling, Jiang Jiayi, Ren Lei, Wang Pengcheng, Liu Chang, Lu Lin, Wang Caiyu, Geng Jingyu
School of Nursing, Putian University, Putian, 351100, China.
College of Psychology, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 611100, China.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Aug 12;13(1):904. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03274-y.
College students' financial goal pursuit might have profound impacts on both individuals and society. Despite the well-established research on the impacts of financial goal pursuit on individuals' well-being, direct investigations into its effects on trust and trustworthiness among college students are relatively limited, especially in the Chinese context. Moreover, studies explored individual variations that might moderate the effects of financial goal pursuit on trust and trustworthiness are rare.
This study examined the relationships between financial goal pursuit and trust and trustworthiness via an online survey (Study 1) and an experiment (Study 2) among 697 Chinese college students (289 in Study 1, 408 in Study 2) and explored the moderating roles of demographic variables, including gender, origin (urban versus rural), age, and family income. Financial goal pursuit was measured by Aspiration Index-6 in Study 1 and activated by images of luxury goods in Study 2. Trust and trustworthiness were measured by the classic investment game in both studies.
Study 1 showed significant negative associations between dispositional financial goal pursuit and trust and trustworthiness. These associations are only observed among male and urban students, with no significant associations found for female and rural students. Study 2 showed that activating financial goal pursuit could reduce trust and trustworthiness. Notably, the adverse effect on trust (but not trustworthiness) is more conspicuous among male and urban students.
This research accentuates the necessity for nuanced understanding in the realm of financial pursuits, interpersonal trust, and demographic variables, especially in rapidly evolving socio-economic contexts like China.
大学生对财务目标的追求可能会对个人和社会产生深远影响。尽管已有大量关于追求财务目标对个人幸福感影响的研究，但对其对大学生信任和可信赖性影响的直接调查相对有限，尤其是在中国背景下。此外，探讨可能调节追求财务目标对信任和可信赖性影响的个体差异的研究也很少见。
本研究通过对697名中国大学生（研究1中有289名，研究2中有408名）进行在线调查（研究1）和实验（研究2），考察了追求财务目标与信任和可信赖性之间的关系，并探讨了人口统计学变量（包括性别、出身地（城市与农村）、年龄和家庭收入）的调节作用。在研究1中，通过抱负指数-6来衡量追求财务目标的程度；在研究2中，通过奢侈品图片来激发追求财务目标的意识。在两项研究中，均通过经典投资游戏来测量信任和可信赖性。
研究1表明，追求财务目标的倾向性与信任和可信赖性之间存在显著的负相关。这些关联仅在男性和城市学生中观察到，而在女性和农村学生中未发现显著关联。研究2表明，激发追求财务目标的意识会降低信任和可信赖性。值得注意 的是，对信任（而非可信赖性）的不利影响在男性和城市学生中更为明显。
本研究强调了在财务追求、人际信任和人口统计学变量领域进行细致入微理解的必要性，尤其是在中国这样快速发展的社会经济背景下。
