Erika Rasure, Ph.D., and Edward Horwitz, Ph.D., CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, CSA®, successfully defended their dissertations this spring. Rasure’s topic was “Exploring the influence of reality television on financial behavior.” Horowitz explored “Three essays on the effectiveness of financial education in the workplace.”
Rasure is now assistant professor of business and financial services at Maryville University, St. Louis, Missouri.
She explained that viewership of reality television has been indicated to influence behaviors among individuals and groups, as existing literature has linked reality television viewership to an increase in the likelihood of demonstrating other non-financial behaviors. The literature notes increases in risky sexual and dating behavior, increases in tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, and increases in violent behavior.
Rasure’s dissertation examined the perceptions of the influence of reality television on financial behavior. Situational reality television programming was found to have the greatest influence on the financial behaviors of college students. Ten college students were interviewed using a phenomenological qualitative approach.
There were four primary findings from Rasure’s qualitative study.
First, reality television has the ability to inform the financial behavior of college students.
Second, an individual’s connection to his or her social system has an influence on financial behavior.
Third, reality television does have the ability to influence financial behavior change.
Fourth, reality television influences the meaning of money as perceived by the respondents. The results of this study provide valuable information to promote further inquiry as to how reality television and other forms of media influence financial behavior.
Rasure’s major professor was Kristy L. Archuleta, PhD, LMFT, associate professor. Her dissertation can be viewed and downloaded at: http://hdl.handle.net/2097/1892.
Horowitz wrote that retirement savings and income projections are among the most financially complex calculations individual Americans will encounter. The movement towards self-directed employer retirement plans has shifted the responsibility for securing an adequate retirement increasingly to the employee, who may lack the financial understanding needed for proper calculations and decisions.
There is an expressed preference among employees for the delivery of financial education in the workplace, where a majority of their financial knowledge is obtained. However, adoption of workplace comprehensive financial education programs has been slow due to the cost, time commitment, and lack of empirical support for their value.
While there have been some mixed findings, literature has generally supported associations between financial education programs and improved literacy and behaviors. A great deal of these mixed results can be explained by the lack of consistency among definitional frameworks for financial literacy, the lack of consistent measures, and the variety of topics and methods used, all of which limit the ability to establish causal support for the educational program’s effectiveness. However, the preference for financial education in the workplace among employees suggests both the need and desire for more comprehensive financial education offered by employers.
Horowitz’s results indicated associations between all three links in the financial literacy model, utilizing both primary research employing quasi-experimental methods, and secondary research from a larger national data sample. For financial educators who are interested in developing and facilitating comprehensive financial education programs for employee or other groups, this research can help provide support and guidance for those efforts. If comprehensive financial education programs can be better positioned to help improve the levels of financial literacy among Americans, fewer negative associated behavioral effects, such as lack of planning and under saving for retirement, may occur.
Horwitz is the director of the Center for Risk Management (CFIRM) at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and associate professor of behavioral finance in the Department of Economics and Finance, also at Creighton University.
Martin C. Seay, PhD, CFP® was Horwitz’s major professor. The full content of the dissertation may be viewed and downloaded here.