How does money make life meaningful? Socioeconomic status, financial self-efficacy, and meaning in life

Abstract

ABSTRACT Four experiments (N = 1,064) examined how primes enhancing the cognitive accessibility of money influence meaning in life (MIL) as a function of socioeconomic status (SES) and current financial self-efficacy. Study 1 demonstrated that financial self-efficacy mediated the association between SES and MIL following a prime of gaining money. In the control condition, SES was unrelated to financial self-efficacy, but following the prime of gaining money, SES was positively linked with financial self-efficacy, which in turn predicted enhanced meaning. Studies 2, 3a, and 3b demonstrated that primes of losing money similarly enhanced MIL as a function of SES and financial self-efficacy. Extending these results, exploratory analyses in Studies 3a and 3b suggested that money priming may influence occupational choices differently as a function of SES via MIL and financial self-efficacy. Reminders of money amplify the link between SES and financial self-efficacy, which bolsters MIL and can guide occupational preferences.