Research Projects on Money
I lead research projects based on careful listening to how men, women, couples ~ and even children ~ are thinking and deciding about money. Consider taking an hour to come in and discuss our current money topic. Typically, I will record and transcribe our conversation. All information is confidential. Contact me if you are interested in participating in an interview.
Published Research
2020
McNabb, M., Chan-Brown, K. and Keller, J. (2020). "In my head, I have a cleaning lady": Symbol form and symbolic intention in the everyday use of money. Semiotica (De Gruyter).
Abstract
Money is a symbol. Beginning with this simple notion, we have completed a qualitative study of how money exists in people’s everyday lives and how it is used symbolically. A review of the financial, economic, psychological, and semiotic literature shows that even though money is written and talked about exhaustively, little symbol theory appears in economic writing, and we rarely found money mentioned in semiotic texts. We used a qualitative, phenomenological approach to identify critical thematic elements and underlying structures of participants’ experience. We also incorporated an accepted symbol-structure template in our analysis of the functions, emotions, actions, and reactions in the transactions our participants described. Participants refer to money both as wealth in the abstract and as concrete amounts about to be used. Our analysis of money in the abstract describes a structure of experience involving belonging, privacy and secrecy, unequal distribution, quantitative uncertainty, reflections of life history, and values. Our analysis of money in the concrete reveals a symbolic intention and a variety of “Others” engaged in the symbolic action.
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2016
Chan-Brown, K., Douglass, A., Halling, S., Keller, J., and McNabb, M., (2016). What is Money? A qualitative study of money as experienced. The Humanistic Psychologist.
Abstract
As practicing therapists trained in existential phenomenological psychology, we see people as always involved in attempting to construct a meaningful world around them and within their relationships. Money is an integral part of day-to-day life but its meaning-making role is little understood—and little studied. This experientially-based study connects these 2 realities by looking at how individuals use money to alter or stabilize their sense of self, world, and relationship. Our study uses in-depth interviews with participants, talking with them about their histories and experience of money throughout their lives. We describe the landscape of an individual’s relationship with money and how money appears in people’s day-to-day experience in the context of North American society. While we present some preliminary findings, this paper also focuses significantly on the application of the dialogal phenomenological method, which relies on dialogue and group process to carry out the research. We have found that money carries personal and variable notions such as value, treasure, ownership, and security, and the way our participants deal with money expresses an individual style and attitude. Our participants describe interactions around money that range from frustrating and confusing to those that promote their personal development. Our study expands the understanding of money in ways that are relevant for clinicians, financial professionals, and the public and identifies areas for further human science research.