Personality economics: An investigation of how personality develops and how it predicts decisions

<p>This thesis is the product of three research papers, of which each one forms a paper of this thesis. In thefirst paper, I study how people’s personality evolves and whether it is shaped by family dynamics,specifically by the sex of one’s siblings. Researchers developed a good understanding of the importanceof personality for people’s lives but know very little how this personality is shaped. The first paperinvestigates whether growing up with a sister instead of a brother might be a cause of different personalitydevelopment. In the second paper, I study two specific personality traits, locus of control and risktolerance, as predictors of decisions under risk. Although we know risk is a crucial part of our lives, we stillhave not determined how to define and measure risk attitudes properly. The second paper delves deeperinto this topic and shows how risk tolerance and locus of control predict risky decisions in an experimentand in real-world choices and gives some additional insight into the measurement of risk attitudes. In thispaper I also studied other personality traits, which turned out to have no important role with regards todecisions under risk. In the third and last paper, I study property insurance decisions with data collectedin an experiment. I designed and coded the experiment and collected this data partially in a computer laband partially online. This project investigates what behavioral and financial factors influence propertyinsurance decisions, especially the choice to insure with fixed-price long-term contracts.</p>

Personality economics: An investigation of how personality develops and how it predicts decisions

<p>This thesis is the product of three research papers, of which each one forms a paper of this thesis. In thefirst paper, I study how people’s personality evolves and whether it is shaped by family dynamics,specifically by the sex of one’s siblings. Researchers developed a good understanding of the importanceof personality for people’s lives but know very little how this personality is shaped. The first paperinvestigates whether growing up with a sister instead of a brother might be a cause of different personalitydevelopment. In the second paper, I study two specific personality traits, locus of control and risktolerance, as predictors of decisions under risk. Although we know risk is a crucial part of our lives, we stillhave not determined how to define and measure risk attitudes properly. The second paper delves deeperinto this topic and shows how risk tolerance and locus of control predict risky decisions in an experimentand in real-world choices and gives some additional insight into the measurement of risk attitudes. In thispaper I also studied other personality traits, which turned out to have no important role with regards todecisions under risk. In the third and last paper, I study property insurance decisions with data collectedin an experiment. I designed and coded the experiment and collected this data partially in a computer laband partially online. This project investigates what behavioral and financial factors influence propertyinsurance decisions, especially the choice to insure with fixed-price long-term contracts.</p>

Perceived discrimination and relative deprivation in Chinese migrant adolescents: the mediating effect of locus of control and moderating effect of duration since migration

Background Associations between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation have been observed among both general and migrant populations. However, it is unclear how, and under what conditions, perceived discrimination relates to relative deprivation, a subjective cognition and affective experience in which individuals or groups perceive themselves as disadvantaged, compared to their peers. Therefore, this study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model to examine the roles of locus of control and duration since migration in the relationship between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using a convenience sampling method in three coastal cities in southeast China. We recruited 625 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents, who completed a battery of questionnaires assessing perceived discrimination, relative deprivation, locus of control, and demographic variables. Regression-based statistical mediation and moderation were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results After controlling for sex and age, perceived discrimination was positively associated with migrant adolescents’ relative deprivation, and external locus of control partially mediated this connection. Furthermore, the mediating effect was moderated by the duration of the migration. In relatively recently migrated adolescents, perceived discrimination was significantly related to relative deprivation through a greater external locus of control; however, this indirect association was not significant for adolescents with long-term migratory duration. Conclusion The results of our analysis expand our understanding of the link between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation. Moreover, these findings may provide practical guidance for interventions among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents to raise their social status and improve their mental health by addressing the macro-social psychological causes of relative deprivation.

The Effect of Turnover Intention, Locus of Control, Audit Fee, Work Motivation on the Performance Quality of Medan City Public Accountant Firm

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of turnover intention, locus of control, audit fees, and work motivation on the quality of auditor performance at the Medan City Public Accounting Firm in 2021. The choice of the sector in this study is due to very tight competition conditions like now. In this case, the auditor must always maintain their performance so that audit quality is not compromised. Auditors must perform work by professional standards so that trust in the auditor can be maintained. The data used is sourced from quantitative data in the form of questionnaires. Using the Simple Random Sampling technique, a sample of 50 auditors was drawn from five Medan City KAPs.The results showed that locus of control, audit fees, and work motivation had a positive and significant effect on the quality of auditor performance at KAP Medan City. Meanwhile, the turnover intention has a negative effect and does not significantly affect the quality of auditor performance at KAP Medan City. But all variables are affected simultaneously.

Risk perception and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic: Predicting variables of compliance with lockdown measures

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to counteract it have highlighted the role of individual differences in evaluating and reacting to emergencies, and the challenges inherent in promoting precautionary behaviours. We aimed to explore the psychological and cognitive factors modulating behaviour and intentions during the national lockdown in Italy. We administered an online questionnaire (N = 244) that included tests for assessing personality traits (Temperament and Character Inventory; Locus of Control of Behaviour) and moral judgment (Moral Foundations Questionnaire), alongside behavioural economics tasks addressing different facets of risk attitude (loss aversion, risk aversion and delay discounting). We then assessed the extent to which individual variations in these dimensions modulated participants’ compliance with the lockdown norms. When assessing their joint contribution via multiple regressions, lockdown adherence was mostly predicted by internal locus of control, psycho-economic dimensions suggestive of long-sighted and loss-averse attitudes, as well as personality traits related to cautionary behaviour, such as harm avoidance, and the authority moral concern. These findings show that a multi-domain assessment of the factors underlying personal intentions, and thus driving compliance with government measures, can help predict individuals’ actions during health emergencies. This evidence points to factors that should be considered when developing interventions and communication strategies to promote precautionary behaviours.

A survey study of adults with chronic conditions: Examining the correlation between patient activation and health locus of control

Objectives This study aimed to examine (1) the association between patient activation (PA), health locus of control (HLOC), sociodemographic and clinical factors, and (2) the effect of HLOC dimensions, sociodemographic and clinical factors on PA. Methods Three hundred U.S. adults, with at least one chronic condition (CC) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed an online survey which included sociodemographic questions, the Patient Activation Measure® - 10, and the Multidimensional Locus of Control (MHLC) - Form B. Statistical analyses, including descriptive, correlation, and multiple linear regression, were conducted using IBM SPSS v25. Results Of the 300 participants, more than half were male (66.3%), White (70.7%), with at least a college degree (76.0%), and employed full-time (79.0%). The average PA score was 68.8 ± 14.5. Multiple linear regression indicated that participants who reported they were Black, retired, with a greater number of CCs, and with higher scores in Chance MHLC had higher PA, while participants with higher scores in Internal MHLC, were unemployed and reported to have been affected by COVID-19-related worry or fear to manage their CC, had lower PA. Discussion HLOC dimensions should be addressed concurrently with PA for patients with CCs, thus adding to a more patient-centered clinical approach.