When Mediated Messages Leads to Making/Losing Money: Influence of Monetary Risk and Benefit on Information Processing

• In Event: ICA Interactive Paper/Poster Session I
  In Interactive Poster Session: Information Systems Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

For studying motivated cognition (Lang, 2006), financial instruments such as mutual funds have an interesting characteristic: it has information on risks (linked to aversive activation) and benefits (linked to appetitive activation).
An experiment was conducted using materials explaining 16 different mutual funds with varying levels of risk and benefits. This is based on a Risk Level (2) x Benefit Level (2) x Repeat (4) factorial design.
Total of 50 subjects to date has participated. All subjects (MBA students) had knowledge on financial investment, and majority of them have had experience with investing themselves. Participants’ physiological responses during stimuli presentation (20 seconds) were collected. Self-report data for their intent to invest were collected, and memory test after distractor task was also conducted.
Preliminary analysis shows that risk information induced significant physiological responses, while benefit information did not. Results for memory test and self-reported purchase intent are yet to be analyzed.

Author

• Byungho Park, KAIST