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Study asks: does hope encourage wealth?
What role does hope play in the way people behave with their money? Can it help predict whether someone will pay off credit cards or invest wisely?
In the wake of the global financial crisis and the recent Christmas retail spend, University of the Sunshine Coast Psychology Lecturer Kay Pozzebon intends to find out.
Ms Pozzebon is collecting data for the study, which is the final element of her PhD with USC.
She is seeking more participants. Anyone aged 18 or over can fill out the online survey, which is anonymous, or for more information call 5459 4604.
“My research so far has shown that hope is made up of seven factors: positive activity, realistic values, relationships, predictability, goal-setting, and internal and external influences,” she said.
“Overall the research supports the idea that hope is not just a thought process, it also has an emotion component.”
Those studies involved more than 500 participants across south-east Queensland over the past few years.
Ms Pozzebon said she wanted to explore the links between hope and financial behaviour.
“Studies on hope so far have focused on its health impacts, such as looking at people diagnosed with terminal illnesses,” she said.
“I expect at least some of those seven factors that create hope also positively influence how we behave with our finances. One example is goal-setting.
“If hope is an expectation of good things occurring, you want to relate that to your financial security.”
Ms Pozzebon said this type of research could ultimately influence how communities teach financial literacy, especially to young people.
– Julie Gatehouse