Browsing by Author "Jonker, Nichola"

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    An investigation of the influence of a gamified intervention on psychological determinants of savings intention
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Jonker, Nichola; Adams, Samantha; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: South Africa’s history of restricted financial inclusion has contributed to a poor culture of saving. South Africans’ savings are effectively cancelled out by the amount of credit taken up, meaning that many struggle to pay off debt rather than adding to their wealth through saving and investment. This poor culture of saving and indebtedness not only impacts the financial wellbeing of individuals and households, but it also impacts economic growth. Financial education is one approach to addressing this problem. Accordingly, Financial Service providers are required by the financial sector codes to spend a minimum of 0.4% net profit after tax on financial education in order to improve South African’s financial literacy, which has been widely acknowledged to be a barrier to financial inclusion. To truly address the problem and influence behaviour, this investment must be used wisely on interventions that are theoretically and empirically related to the underlying factors that drive savings behaviour. Gamification has become a popular technique used to motivate people to engage in targeted behaviours and is also an attractive option for organisations to invest in as they can scale their efforts more cost-effectively. Unfortunately, although some educational interventions have resulted in short term improvements in financial knowledge, there is less evidence with respect to the effect on individual’s financial attitudes or behaviours and this could be attributed to a lack of understanding of the psychological determinants of positive savings behaviour. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore the variables proposed to contribute to savings behaviour and to empirically investigate the extent to which engagement with a gamified intervention would impact them. An experimental pre-test post-test control group design was used (N = 34). The gamified intervention evaluated was designed in a partnership between a South African bank and a game designing firm and its intent is to influence consumers’ beliefs and attitudes about saving in order to change their savings behaviour. The findings of this study did not provide any significant support for the hypotheses, although there was a trend towards a possible relationship between the effectiveness of the gamified intervention and the outcome of improved basic financial knowledge and savings attitudes. The results of this study deliver important insights for further research in the use of gamification to promote savings behaviour. A conceptual model of savings intention as well as some preliminary evidence of the positive effects that gamification can have on the outcomes of financial education interventions is provided.