Influence of terror perceptions on individual investment behaviors: examining the moderating effects of present hedonic time perspective and consumer gender
Authors: Chen Jing-Yi 
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The argument that terror perception and individual time perspectives can affect behaviors has become increasingly relevant. This study analyzed the association of terror perception with financial risk and developed an integrated framework of the interaction between terror perception (mortality salience) and time perspective to determine risky investment. People with different time perspectives have different acknowledgments of risk. Two studies of terror perception leading to more or less risky investment choices supported this framework to demonstrate that individuals exhibit more (less) risky investment behavior when terror perception is salient and they have a high (low) present hedonic time perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experiments were performed. Study 1 tested whether TP moderates the effects of terror priming (aging) on risky financial investment. Study 2 tested the effects of terror priming on risky financial investment decisions and the role of gender and the present hedonic TP (PH) in moderating these effects. The following hypotheses were then developed: H1: Participants with high PH primed with the aging condition will select riskier financial investments than those with low PH will (Study 1). H2: Male participants with higher PH primed in the death condition will select riskier financial investments than those in the control condition will (Study 2).

Findings

Because people with different TPs acknowledge risk differently, this article developed a new framework modeling MS on TP in risky investment selection. Two studies representative of MS affecting risky investment decision-making were conducted to test the framework. The results of the two studies indicated that individuals engaged in risky investment behavior more (less) when mortality was salient and the individual had high (low) PH. Moreover, gender influences these results. As anticipated, male participants with higher PH in the death-primed condition selected riskier financial investment than those in the control condition did. Additional research from a broader perspective is warranted.

Originality/value

Many psychological factors of risky decision-making have been discussed, such as motivational systems or situational motivation, self-framing, control orientation, sensation seeking, dishonesty, and ambiguity (Sekścińskaet al., 2016). However, few studies have examined temporal framing, also known as time perspective (TP), the psychological concept of a person's relationship with time. This study mainly discusses the effects of terror perception on risky financial decisions by using a theoretical framework based on TP, which influences the effects of MS on risky financial decision-making. When mortality is made salient, individuals with present hedonic TP have behaviors characterized by risk perception. Those with present hedonic TP are more likely to make risky financial investments because they prefer present pleasure and risk over future outcomes (Zimbardo and Boyd, 2015).