An Investigation on Integral Emotions as Parallel Predictors for Risky Financial Behavior

Abstract

This study integrates emotion and decision-making theories in consumer finance to examine how integral emotions (emotions induced by the decision-making process) shape risky choices. The purpose of the study is to investigate how integral emotions, specifically anticipatory (felt before deciding) and anticipated (predicted post-outcome) emotions, work in parallel to influence risky behavior. Unlike prior work that isolated a single emotional pathway, this research offers novelty by modeling both emotional pathways as parallel mechanisms induced by anticipated outcomes, and by quantifying their direct and indirect effects within the same model across two financial contexts. A sample of 640 Indonesians (aged 21–35; 61% female) viewed audiovisual vignettes for “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) and “Online Loan,” then rated perceived future gain/loss (anticipated outcome), the intensity of anticipated and anticipatory emotions, risk perception, intention to use the financial schemes, and completed the risk propensity scale. Path analyses showed that anticipated outcomes robustly elicited both emotion types, and that direct effects of both emotions on risky intention exceeded indirect effects in both contexts. These findings demonstrate that integral emotions influence risky financial intention directly and in parallel, underscore the value of jointly modeling anticipatory and anticipated emotions in risky decision-making.

Keywords

anticipated emotion / anticipated outcome / anticipatory emotion / decision-making / risky financial behavior

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