Browsing by Author "Almeida, Filipa de"
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- Attitudes toward money and control strategies of financial behavior: a comparison between overindebted and non-overindebted consumersPublication . Almeida, Filipa de; Ferreira, Mário B.; Soro, Jerônimo C.; Silva, Carla SofiaThis paper addresses whether overindebted and non-overindebted consumers differ in their attitude toward money (specifically, the degree to which consumers care about money and feel difficulties keeping track of their money) and how this attitude impacts three different financial behavior categories: record keeping (e.g., recording spending in writing), adjusting balance (e.g., trying to find ways to decrease one’s expenses to match income), and monitoring balance (e.g., monitoring one’s spending to see if it is in line with what is expected). Overindebted consumers were recruited via an NGO for consumer defense and were categorized (whenever possible) into two subgroups: consumers who became overindebted due to internal causes (e.g., bad financial management) and consumers who became overindebted due to external causes (e.g., unemployment). Non-overindebted consumers were a convenience sample. Non-overindebted consumers showed more positive attitudes toward money than both groups of overindebted consumers and overindebted due to external causes showed more positive attitudes than overindebted consumers due to internal causes. All groups share similar financial management behaviors except for monitoring balance, which was more frequent among non-overindebted consumers. Furthermore, a regression analysis indicates that money attitudes helped explain financial behavior differences between consumers above and beyond their indebtedness status. Consumers’ attitude predicted financial behaviors, even when controlling for relevant socioeconomic variables (education, income, age, and gender). Further analyses comparing money attitudes and financial behavior for the three subgroups (non-overindebted, overindebted due to internal causes, and overindebted due to external causes) showed no differences.
- Financial scarcity and cognitive performance: a meta-analysisPublication . Almeida, Filipa de; Scott, Ian J.; Soro, Jerônimo C.; Fernandes, Daniel; Amaral, André R.; Catarino, Mafalda L.; Arêde, André; Ferreira, Mário B.Whereas several studies find that financial scarcity has a detrimental impact on cognitive functioning, some studies find no relationship and others even report beneficial effects. To shed light on this issue we conducted a meta-analysis on the relationship between financial scarcity and cognitive functioning. We went beyond testing the direct relationship between these two concepts and looked at potential moderators, namely education, the moment of scarcity, the severity of scarcity, the type of tasks used to assess cognitive functioning, and the type of study. Our findings suggest that scarcity does have a detrimental effect on cognitive functioning. Across 256 effect sizes from 29 datasets involving 111,852 respondents, we found a detrimental total effect of scarcity on cognitive performance of Hedge's g = -0.43. We then estimated a meta-regression model of the drivers of the effect of scarcity on cognition. Education strongly explained this relationship, reducing the effect size by 60 % (partial effect of scarcity on cognitive performance is Hedge's g = -0.15, when accounting for education), to a small effect size. The moment and the severity of scarcity also contribute to this relationship, by moderating the effect, such that lifetime and adulthood scarcity have a larger effect than childhood scarcity, and more extreme levels of scarcity lead to higher cognitive dysfunction. The type of task used to assess cognitive functioning did not moderate the effect. And when controlling for education, higher effect sizes were found for non-correlational designs. We discuss these findings and their implications in light of existing research and theories.
- How humans judge machinesPublication . Hidalgo, César A.; Orghian, Diana; Canals, Jordi Albo; Almeida, Filipa de; Martin, NataliaHow would you feel about losing your job to a machine? How about a tsunami alert system that fails? Would you react differently to acts of discrimination depending on whether they were carried out by a machine or by a human? What about public surveillance? How Humans Judge Machines compares people's reactions to actions performed by humans and machines. Using data collected in dozens of experiments, this book reveals the biases that permeate human-machine interactions. Are there conditions in which we judge machines unfairly? Is our judgment of machines affected by the moral dimensions of a scenario? Is our judgment of machine correlated with demographic factors such as education or gender? César Hidalgo and colleagues use hard science to take on these pressing technological questions. Using randomized experiments, they create revealing counterfactuals and build statistical models to explain how people judge artificial intelligence and whether they do it fairly. Through original research, How Humans Judge Machines bring us one step closer to understanding the ethical consequences of AI.
- On the relation between over-indebtedness and well-being: an analysis of the mechanisms influencing health, sleep, life satisfaction, and emotional well-beingPublication . Ferreira, Mário B.; Almeida, Filipa de; Soro, Jerônimo C.; Herter, Márcia Maurer; Pinto, Diego Costa; Silva, Carla SofiaThis paper aims to explore the association between over-indebtedness and two facets of well-being - life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Although prior research has associated over-indebtedness with lower life satisfaction, this study contributes to the extant literature by revealing its effects on emotional well-being, which is a crucial component of well-being that has received less attention. Besides subjective well-being (SWB), reported health, and sleep quality were also assessed. The findings suggest that over-indebted (compared to non-over-indebted) consumers have lower life satisfaction and emotional well-being, as well as poorer (reported) health and sleep quality. Furthermore, over-indebtedness impacts life satisfaction and emotional well-being through different mechanisms. Consumers decreased perceived control accounts for the impact of over-indebtedness on both facets of well-being (as well as on reported health and sleep). Financial well-being (a specific component of life satisfaction), partly mediates the impact of indebtedness status on overall life satisfaction. The current study contributes to research focusing on the relationship between indebtedness, well-being, health, and sleep quality, and provides relevant theoretical and practical implications.
- Perceived causes and attitudes regarding overindebtedness and their effects on public agreement with government financial aidPublication . Soro, Jerônimo C.; Ferreira, Mário B.; Almeida, Filipa de; Silva, Carla Sofia; Reis, JoanaIn order to better understand how the problem of overindebtedness is perceived from a laypeople standpoint, Study 1 inquired both overindebted and non-overindebted consumers on the perceived causes of and attitudes toward the overindebted. Situational and dispositional factors were perceived to have similar impact as causes of overindebtedness, but non-overindebted consumers showed stronger agreement with those causes than overindebted consumers. Regarding attitudes, non-overindebted consumers tended to blame overindebted people for their situation rather than perceiving them as victims, whereas overindebted consumers showed the opposite pattern. Study 2 used a sample of (non-overindebted) consumers to assess the impact of perceived causes of overindebtedness, attitudes toward the overindebted, and political orientation on public support of government policies for aiding overindebted people. We discuss the contributions of the present findings to design public policies aimed at aiding overindebted households that are more aligned with the beliefs and attitudes of the general public.