Rouse, Donna (2008) Exploring the role of personality and intellectual ability in financial literacy. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The 228 participants in the current research was a convenience sample consisting of a mixture of University of Southern Queensland (USQ) psychology students and members of the public. The web-based survey consisted of two instruments plus demographic items. A financial self-efficacy questionnaire was developed for this project, consisting of seven questions, and the financial literacy instrument was based on that used by Noon (2006). Calibration of financial literacy skills was measured concurrently with the financial literacy scale. A bias score was obtained by subtracting the financial literacy score from the confidence score. The mean financial literacy score for the current sample was 61.13%, with 57.4% of respondents achieving a ‘pass’ of 60% correct (MacCarthy, 2005). The mean bias score (M = -3.71) suggested that the sample as a whole was fairly well calibrated. The least accurate groups in the estimation of their performance were those earning over $70,000 (M = -15.00), those having been in the workforce for 20-25 years (M = -14.09), and those holding postgraduate qualifications (M = -12.78), who all substantially underestimated their ability. The most overconfident group was the group aged under 18 years (M = 6.61), although their degree of miscalibration was substantially less than that of the groups who underestimated their ability. It was expected that financial self-efficacy would be high regardless of skill levels. However, a comparison of the mean self efficacy scores for the unskilled and skilled groups indicated that skilled participants had significantly higher levels of selfefficacy than unskilled participants, (t[110] = -2.77, p < .05, 2-tailed). Although unskilled participants were less confident in their ability than were skilled participants (i.e., had lower financial self-efficacy scores) their confidence level was still over-inflated (i.e., higher bias scores) given their demonstrated ability. Likewise, although skilled participants had higher levels of self-efficacy and confidence, they had reason to be even more confident, given their demonstrated ability. It appears that those who are most in need of help in financial matters (i.e., those unskilled in financial matters) are least likely to seek help, because they are overconfident in their ability to understand and perform financial functions, and are unable to recognise when they are making errant decisions.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Gerry Fogarty |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Nov 2025 01:48 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Nov 2025 01:48 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52715 |
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