Dialectical beliefs and savings tendency: Opposite patterns in good versus bad current status

Abstract

People often experience a dilemma: whether we should invest now for a better future or save now for an unexpected future. The current research investigated the influence of dialecticism, a constellation of lay beliefs stating that the world is full of constant changes, coexisting contradictions, and interdependent relationships, on people's savings tendencies when they are with good versus bad status. Study 1 verified that dialectical beliefs were negatively associated with optimistic expectations among people with good status (i.e., high socioeconomic status) but positively associated with optimistic expectations among people with bad status (i.e., low socioeconomic status). Next, Studies 2 and 3 examined the interaction effect between dialectical beliefs and people's current status in predicting their savings tendencies in the investment scenarios with the focus on savings decision‐making and emotional experiences related to savings scenarios, respectively. Finally, to test generalizability, Study 4 examined people's savings tendencies in the situation that they needed to prevent failure instead of doing investments. The results converged to support the hypothesis that stronger dialectical beliefs predicted greater savings tendencies among people with good current status but weaker savings tendencies among people with bad current status. These findings demonstrated that the effect of dialectical beliefs on savings tendencies varies as a function of the characteristics of the situations, which advances the theoretical understanding of dialecticism in decision‐making research.

The Relationship Between Dialectical Beliefs and Proenvironmental Behaviors

“…In contrast, people low in dialectical beliefs perceive that future developments are predictable, there is only one truth, and the elements in the universe are independent and separate. Dialectical beliefs are found to be more prevalent in East Asian societies, but the influence of these lay beliefs is also observed, notably, among people in Western societies (e.g., Ji et al, 2001;Li, 2018;Li et al, 2016;Li et al, 2014;Spina et al, 2010).…”

“…Ji, Zhang, and Guo (2008) found that people from dialectical cultures were more likely to buy a stock in a declining trend than were their counterparts from nondialectical cultures. Recently, Li (2018) manipulated dialectical beliefs among American participants and observed that dialectical beliefs predicted more consumption of available resources during the present among people in the bad status, which may imply a stronger optimistic prediction on the availability of resources in the future.…”

“…The warning that climate change is occurring now and will be more severe in the future may be less effective at fostering proenvironmental behaviors among dialectical people. Due to the cyclical expectation of changes (Ji et al, 2008; Li, 2018; Spina et al, 2010), compared to nondialectical people, dialectical people may be more likely to have an optimistic prediction on climate change under the serious warning of it. This perception of less severe climate change in the future may make dialectical people less likely to engage in proenvironmental campaigns, which may in turn reduce their proenvironmental behaviors.…”

“…Dialectical beliefs, which are rooted in historic East Asian philosophical ideologies such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, refer to a constellation of lay beliefs that emphasize an expectation of change, tolerance of contradictions, and holistic perception (for a review, see Spencer-Rodgers, Williams, & Peng, 2010), which captures the perception of how the world is organized in general. Dialectical beliefs are found to be a general belief system that guides people’s behaviors across various domains, such as stock purchase and saving behavior (e.g., Ji, Nisbett, & Su, 2001; Li, 2018; Li, Masuda, & Jiang, 2016; Li, Masuda, & Russell, 2014; Spina, Ji, Ross, Li, & Zhang, 2010).…”

“…To address this limitation, this research intended to extend the research of environmental psychology in China, the country with the largest population. Dialectical beliefs, the construct tested in this research, are more prevalent in East Asian societies but also influential in Western societies across different domains (e.g., Li, 2018; Li et al, 2014). The results obtained in this research should have the potential to aid in understanding people’s responses to environmental crises not only in other East Asian societies but also in Western societies.…”