A new study found that when people feel powerful, they tend to save more for the future.
Not everyone finds it easy to save money. Previous studies found that education, upbringing, and self-control play an important role in inculcating the habit of saving in a person. The findings of a new study suggest that feeling powerful also influences a person's saving abilities.
"We were interested in knowing whether the decision to save or not save money was affected by how someone was feeling during the time they were making a savings decision," authors Emily N. Garbinsky (Stanford University), Anne-Kathrin Klesse (Tilburg University), and Jennifer Aaker (Stanford University) said in a press statement.
The study was conducted across five different sections, all of which suggested that when people feel powerful, the will to save as well as the amount of savings increase. In one experiment, some participants were made to feel powerful by sitting on tall chairs while others were made to feel powerless by sitting on lower chairs. All participants were asked to answer a questionnaire which asked them whether they wanted to collect their study compensation in cash or have it transferred to their bank account for saving purposes. Researchers found that people sitting on higher chairs were more likely to choose the saving option than those sitting in lower chairs. Researchers also found that feeling powerful makes people save with the intention of accumulating financial resources and not to spend it later.
"People who feel powerful use saving money as a means to maintain their current state of power. When saving no longer affords individuals the opportunity to maintain power, the effect of power on saving disappears," the authors said.
The findings can be especially useful for companies that offer financial advice on saving for future use. Consumers can also use the results to better understand their own personal relationships with power and money.
The study was published online in the Journal of Consumer Research.
