Impact of Dark Triad Personality Traits on Financial Misbehaviour: Evidence-Based Theory of Planned Behaviour

Introduction

Saving, spending and other financial behaviours amongst university students have been examined as sources of debt even after graduation (Chan, Chau, & Chan, 2012). Bad budgeting practices, including not practicing budgeting at all, have been associated with negative personal consequences, such as bed credit history, stress, lower self-esteem and poor academic performance (Ismail, Serguieva, & Singh, 2011; Sawangdee et al., 2016; Tsai, Dwyer, & Tsay, 2016; Zhang & Kemp, 2009). Several students are likely to be in lifelong debt and take new financial loans, such as from credit cards or informal loan shark throughout their college education (Sawangdee et al., 2016; Tangkitvanich & Manasboonphempool, 2010). Interestingly, some students adopt good money management practices whilst others do not; students’ management abilities can define how they avoid debt (Kettle, Trudel, Blanchard, & Häubl, 2016). This matter has attracted attention from researchers of financial behaviour and psychology, especially in developing countries.

Students are more likely to be in debt when their studies are supported by loans. A student loan fund can be used as a competitive tool amongst universities to attract students with their loan policies. This problem is now being faced by developing countries, generating concern amongst creditors and new borrowers, particularly over the last decades. Some studies have indicated students’ willingness to make monthly loan repayments once they are employed. However, often unpredicted factors emerge that hinder students from repaying their loans. The main threat to repayment is household debt or unexpected high expansion. Further, the increasing number and volume of individual loans have been an extreme cause for concern for financial institutions with regard to the ability of debtors to repay loans. Similar problems have occurred in China (Shen & Li, 2003; Wang, Lu, & Malhotra, 2011) and other counties in Asia, including Thailand (Kang & Ma, 2007). Getting out of debt or managing to repay money within the repayment time also depends on how debtors allocate their repayment accounts because many debtors carry multiple accounts to be paid (Kettle et al., 2016). Thus, how students balance their budgets when they cannot afford to pay their bills, especially with student loan, must be determined.

Today, the world is more finance driven compared with the past decade. However, the research on individual underlying factors that determine how students manage their budget is limited for the Thai population. Past studies have mostly analysed policy implementation and satisfaction at the student level (Arkharaudom, 2012). Therefore, understanding money management intention at the individual level is challenging. All students should be prepared and supported to learn how to manage their budget properly. However, money management intention and awareness might be more pertinent for students engaged in higher education because they would be entering the real world soon.

If money management behaviours are a result of good preparation, the influences and the processes during financial behavioural change should be considered the same as other physical behaviour performances. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is widely accepted for its explanation of various human activities, including healthcare, physical activities and financial behaviours. TPB explains how individuals engage in behaviours based on intention, which is shaped by attitude towards behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC). Additionally, monetary behavioural change is considered a process and not an event. The transtheoretical model of change has been widely used because it explains behavioural change according to concrete stages. Moreover, scholars identify personality as a factor of individuals’ differences. The Dark Triad of personality is a new term in the financial world that refers to three compounded traits associated with financial misbehaviours and unethical behaviours in empirical studies. The Dark Triad is conceptualised into two theories for predicting money management intention. This chapter addresses questions on the impact of human dark personality traits on intended behaviour change in money management amongst university students.