Content uploaded by Liezel Alsemgeest
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Liezel Alsemgeest on Apr 23, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
Article
Talking about money is taboo:
Perceptions of financial planning
students and implications for the
financial planning industry
Liezel Alsemgeest
University of the Free State, South Africa
Abstract
Communication about money is a social, cultural and psychological taboo and yet it is essential in the financial planning
industry, as a financial planner cannot be effective if all information is not disclosed. This article examines how financial
planning students perceive communication about money, their willingness to talk about it and their biases with regard to
money communication. The quantitative study obtained relevant data from financial planning students in South Africa.
There is a need to oppose this taboo and create a new custom of money communication in order to enhance financial
health.
Keywords
communication, financial planning, money, student attitudes, taboo
‘Money remains a taboo topic. Whereas sex and death have
been removed from both the social and the research taboo list
in many Western countries, money is still a topic that appears
to be impolite to discuss and debate’. (Furnham and Argyle,
2008: 3)
Conversations about money often make people feel
embarrassed and conflicted, as in many cultures, it is
treated as a taboo subject; and so the subject is avoided
(Trachtman, 1999). Culture shapes beliefs, values and the
rules of interaction (Ng’ang’a and Nyongesa, 2012) and
determines unofficially taboo subjects: if there is an unspo-
ken agreement between group members to avoid a specific
subject, this becomes part of the group’s culture and is
respected by group members (Shulman, 2008). Trachtman
(1999: 280) notes that many of the people he interviewed
thought that talking about money acted as a ‘social distan-
cer’ and that it was ‘just not done’.
Since the 1980s, most industrial countries have reported
increased consumer spending and debt usage, while saving
rates have severely declined (Betti et al., 2007). Money
affects everyone in society on a daily basis. However, it
is still not freely talked about because of its psychological
and cultural effects on the individual (Trachtman, 1999).
According to Aldridge (1998), people are reluctant to
discuss personal finances with others, with the possible
exceptions of financial planners, accountants and bank
managers, whose professional standing ensures confidenti-
ality. Conversely, how do professionals such as financial
planners feel about money communication themselves?
There is a growing demand for financial professionals to
guide clients through the complicated maze of personal
financial planning. Given the nature of these services, it
is essential to talk about money: a client has to open up
about issues such as income, spending, personal assets,
debt and financial goals (Botha et al., 2014). In doing so,
the client has to be completely honest and may feel
exposed; a relationship of trust is therefore fundamental
to a successful client–adviser relationship (Dubofsky and
Sussman, 2009). The cultural taboo attached to talking
about money is therefore in direct conflict with the require-
ments of financial planning as a career choice.
The objective of this article is to gain insight into how
financial planning students perceive communication about
Corresponding author:
Liezel Alsemgeest, School for Financial Planning Law, University of the
Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
Email: alsemgeestl@ufs.ac.za
Industry and Higher Education
1–8
ªThe Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0950422216670065
ihe.sagepub.com
money, their willingness to talk about it and their own
biases with regard to money communication. In future,
these students will have to recruit clients and speak frankly
about money-related issues and it is therefore important to
understand their stance on the subject. The students may
have to contend against their own feelings of money com-
munication discomfort as well as those of their clients.
The article begins with a review of the literature on
money as a taboo subject, the reasons behind the taboo
(cultural and psychological) and the need for money com-
munication in the financial planning career. The respon-
dents who took part in the study were undergraduate
financial planning students at the School for Financial
Planning Law of the University of the Free State, a leading
South African institution in financial planning education.
The methodology adopted is then discussed in detail, after
which the results are presented and examined.
Literature review
Money: The last taboo
Money as an entity is far more complicated and multifa-
ceted than its original functionality might suggest (Low-
rance, 2011). The word taboo stems from the Tongan word
tabu, which literally means ‘forbidden’ (Allan and Bur-
ridge, 2006). Money is such a taboo subject that Freud
(1908) saw it as associated with feelings of disgust and
shame, and a preoccupation with money, in many societies,
is viewed as tasteless. There is often an apparent conflict,
furthermore, between the goal of a classless society and the
consumerism that is essential to a capitalist economy
(Wilkinson and Pickett, 2011): money provides opportuni-
ties for those who have it, while those without it lag behind.
Historically, the act of moneymaking (work), in certain
cultures, could lack prestige. Lord Byron, for example,
would accept fees from publishers only with the greatest
embarrassment (see Simmel, 2004): in such a culture, to
exchange mental performance or intellect for money is
considered degrading, as it is thought that no monetary
value can realistically be placed on such activities. Krueger
(1986) argues that money is the most emotionally charged
object and that only feelings towards food and sex are close
competitors. Money has a social and cultural impact that
dictates what other people think of us, as well as a psycho-
logical impact that influences what we think of ourselves.
Cultural impact of money
In economic terms, money can be defined as a medium of
exchange (Dyer, 1989), a unit of account (Sardoni, 2008), a
store of value (Abdullah, 2013) or a standard of deferred
payment (McKinnon, 2001). From a psychological view-
point, however, it has very different significance. Clinical
psychologists (Klontz et al., 2008) suggest that money is
related to states of anxiety and neuroses, while
developmental psychologists (Weisgram et al., 2010) are
interested in how meanings of money develop from child-
hood into adulthood. Powerful and complex associations
are formed around it, which influence how people ulti-
mately use it: there is a strong link between money and
such personal issues as self-esteem and sense of identity,
and industrial psychologists (Rynes et al., 2004) treat it as a
valued outcome of employment. According to sociologists,
money can be culturally defined in a social context (Good-
win, 2008). Nonetheless, despite the immense presence of
money in our lives, it is still largely regarded as a cultural
taboo subject (Lowrance, 2011).
Humans are cultural and social beings – interdepen-
dence is necessary for us to get what we need and want –
and so there is a strong desire to belong and to be accepted
(Furnham and Argyle, 2008). Money can provide a means
of gaining acceptance even if one is not liked by the group
(Zhou et al., 2009). It can be used as a measure of how
society perceives us, as we have a level of control over
what we present to the world (e.g. houses, cars, clothing
and jewellery). We provide society with non-verbal indica-
tions of our status (Georgarakos et al., 2012).
Even within the nuclear family, it is difficult to talk
about money. The power it holds makes it a difficult topic.
Wilson (1987) found that the women in her study were
willing to talk about issues such as shopping on a budget,
but unwilling to discuss financial power struggles within
their marriages. The silence that surrounds money is a
testament to its importance; and Wilson concluded that
this silence was necessary to maintain male dominance
in a domestic setting. Values, norms, practices and beha-
viours with regard to the very private domain of personal
finances are rooted in our cultures and can be very hard to
breach (Aldridge, 1998): our cultural background, family
values, experiences and emotions lie behind our percep-
tions of money, which may often be unconsciously held
(Lowrance, 2011).
Psychological impact of money
Money is multifaceted, with positive associations such as
security, freedom, love, self-worth and happiness, as well
as negative connotations such as fear, control, guilt, depen-
dency and envy (Lowrance, 2011). Many people measure
themselves and others as either of account or value or of no
account or little value depending on their monetary worth
or income. An individual’s value as a human being can
hardly be measured by money and yet we are often classi-
fied according to how much we have (Trachtman, 1999).
Simmel (2004) thus argues that the importance of a person
is gauged not only through his or her personality and char-
acter but also through his or her economic potential.
Money is perceived as an intensely private matter that
has a definite connection to self-worth. It has been
described as both sacred (positive connotation) and profane
2Industry and Higher Education
(negative connotation) according to its sources and uses.
Money is deemed as sacred when society imparts a mean-
ing to it which leads to its being revered, feared, wor-
shipped and treated with the highest respect through gifts,
collectibles and heirlooms (Belk and Wallendorf, 1990). In
other words, qualitative and emotional significance is
attached to it. In direct contrast, it can also be perceived
as profane. In this case, money is accorded the lowliest
status and is seen as an evil that provokes feelings of revul-
sion and disgust. This is consistent with Freud’s primitive
interpretation of money as something that can be regarded
as repulsive and associated with feelings of aversion, a real
taboo (Herbert, 2002). A profane commodity can be
exchanged easily for something of equivalent value: it is
not revered through association with loved ones, other peo-
ple or as part of a collection (Appadurai, 1986). These two
contrasting perceptions thus lead to inner conflict, with
money seen as both sacred and good (the almighty dollar)
and evil and destructive (filthy lucre) (Belk and Wallen-
dorf, 1990).
If money is essential to fulfil basic needs such as food
and shelter, it is also, as we have seen, used to maintain
and shape self-esteem. It provides for needs near the base
of Maslow’s hierarchy (1943), but it can also lead to a
sense of self-worth and consequently to self-actualization.
Furnham and Argyle (2008) consider the fact that in
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need for money is
omitted. Their supposition is that the need for money
should fall within the lower level motivations, in order
to pay for basic requirements, but that it also relates to
the higher levels of motivation that represent achievement
and success.
Self-esteem is needed to function optimally in the
human motivation hierarchy and is obtained largely
through feelings of above-average intelligence, morality,
generosity and competence. A positive self-image is also
in some cases obtained through higher financial earnings
and so money and self-esteem are interrelated and both can
lead to satisfaction (Zhang, 2009). However, although
money can induce positive (power) feelings, it can also lead
to negative emotions (shame and guilt) that may break
down self-esteem.
Because money confers social power, it can be seen as a
measure of worthiness and so can create an enhanced image
and social structure for the individual (Furnham and
Argyle, 2008). It may also be linked to happiness: the belief
that more wealth brings greater happiness tends to be
strengthened by the materialism that tends to characterize
consumerist societies (Chaplin and John, 2010).
A sense of shame, on the other hand, acts negatively on
an individual’s perception of himself or herself. There is a
clear link between the negative feeling of shame and the
need for money, which is perceived as the means to
increase self-esteem and gain the respect of others, and thus
to increase one’s sense of self-worth. Similarly, it has been
found that poverty enhances feelings of shame and that
these negative feelings can lead to a continuous cycle of
poverty and greed (Wang et al., 2012). Debt too contributes
to feelings of shame and guilt, and people would rather tell
others about their income than reveal how much they owe
(Georgarakos et al., 2012).
The need for money communication for financial
planners
The Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB)
describes itself as ‘a nonprofit association that manages,
develops and operates certification, education and
related programs for financial planning organizations
so that they may benefit the global community by estab-
lishing, upholding and promoting worldwide profes-
sional standards in financial planning’ (http://
www.fpsb.org/about/). The Certified Financial Planner
trademark (CFP
1
) is a testament to the institution’s
objective to ensure excellence in financial planning.
Currently, 26 international financial planning standard-
setting organizations are members or associate members
of the FPSB, adhering to its standards and rules.
According to the FPSB, financial planners should use a
six-step process that represents the ‘best practice’ in finan-
cial planning methodology. The steps are as follows (Botha
et al., 2014: 138):
1. Establish and define the professional relationship.
2. Collect the client’s information.
3. Analyse and assess the client’s financial status.
4. Develop the financial planning recommendations
and present them to the client.
5. Implement the client’s financial planning
recommendations.
6. Review the client’s situation.
In the first two steps, communication between the
financial planner and the client is extremely important.
The first sets the process in motion, as the financial plan-
ner must inform the client about the type of services and
competencies he or she can offer and then ascertain
whether they will meet the needs of the client. If they
do, the scope of the engagement or relationship can then
be defined. In the second step, the planner starts to deter-
mine the client’s financial and personal goals, as well as
gathers quantitative information (such as expenditures,
assets and debts) and qualitative information (values, atti-
tudes towards money, risk profile and expectations)
(Botha et al., 2014).
The communication about money needed in these two
steps may produce discomfort in both planner and client
and that discomfort can significantly influence the success
of the process and the relationship.
Alsemgeest 3
Methodology
A quantitative approach was employed in this study using a
structured self-administered questionnaire (Babbie, 2010).
The objective was to gain insight into how financial plan-
ning students perceive communication about money, their
willingness to talk about money and their own biases
towards money communication.
Population
The population consisted of 162 undergraduate students
registered for financial planning modules at the School for
Financial Planning Law, University of the Free State in
South Africa. The School is a leader in financial planning
education specifically in enabling students to obtain the
required CFP designation that is globally recognized.
There were two main reasons for the choice of this
group. Firstly, they had made a clear choice to pursue a
career in the financial planning industry: as financial plan-
ning professionals, they will have to get their clients to
open up about their finances in order to give the best pos-
sible service, even if they feel uncomfortable themselves in
doing so. Secondly, these students would be especially
likely to recognize the importance of effective personal
financial management, given their interest in the field.
Of the total population, about 48%were full-time Finan-
cial Planning Law students. The remainder of the popula-
tion were commerce students who had chosen financial
planning as an elective module.
Sample
Of the 162 registered students, 123 (75.9%) usable ques-
tionnaires were obtained. The gender balance of the respon-
dents was close to even, with about 49%males and 51%
females. They were aged between 18 and 28, with the
majority under 24. Respondents were also asked to indicate
their sources of income, with the option to mark more than
one source: the details are presented in Table 1. The major-
ity still received financial assistance from their parents/
guardians and family, as would be expected. Bursaries were
a favourite source of income, with 22.0%of the students
obtaining income in this way, while 13.8%had taken on debt.
Procedure
This article forms part of a larger research study and focuses
specifically on the financial communication of financial
planning students. Data were collected during the first seme-
ster of 2015. The questionnaire was administered by the
researcher and students were asked to complete it during
class time: completion of the questionnaire was voluntary
and anonymous (students were told in class that they did not
have to complete the questionnaire and that no personal
identification was required). The data from the completed
questionnaires were recorded in Microsoft Excel and then
imported into IBM SPSS (Version 23) and analysed.
The four sections of the questionnaire elicited informa-
tion about the respondent’s current financial status or situ-
ation, financial stress, financial communication and
financial advice. The section dealing with financial com-
munication included eight statements (see Table 2), tested
on a five-point Likert scale. No open questions were
included since the aim of the research was exploratory in
nature and to gather initial insights and understanding. The
eight statements recorded a Cronbach’s aof 0.804,
indicating moderate to strong internal consistency reliabil-
ity (Salkind, 2003).
Table 1. Respondents’ sources of income.
Source Frequency
Percentage of total
sample
Bursaries 27 22.0
Loans 17 13.8
Part-time work 12 9.8
Full-time work 3 2.4
Parents/guardians/family 98 79.7
Investments 3 2.4
Friends 5 4.1
Own business/entrepreneurial
activity
21.6
Table 2. Financial communication statements, means and
frequency.
Statement Mean
Disagree
(%)
Undecided
(%)
Agree
(%)
I talk about my financial
situation/status
2.86 43.4 17.2 39.4
I feel that you should talk
about money
3.43 23.0 19.7 57.3
I talk to my family about
money
3.79 17.1 4.9 78.0
I talk to my friends about
money
3.38 28.1 12.4 59.5
My parents/family talk to
me about their
finances
3.63 22.1 10.7 67.2
I feel comfortable
discussing financial
matters
3.42 22.1 21.3 56.6
I feel at ease giving out
personal information
about my financial
affairs
2.73 53.3 19.2 27.5
I can speak to family/
friends with ease
about my financial
hardships
3.51 21.0 17.6 61.4
4Industry and Higher Education
Results and discussion
The respondents were asked to rate the statements on a
scale from 1 to 5 (1 ¼Strongly disagree,2¼Disagree,
3¼Undecided,4¼Agree and 5 ¼Strongly agree). Table
2 presents the eight communication statements, the means
and the respective percentages of the students who agreed
with the statements, were undecided and disagreed.
The statements ‘I talk about my financial situation/sta-
tus’ and ‘I feel at ease giving out personal information
about my financial affairs’ had the lowest means, indicating
that on average, the respondents did not talk about their
finances and felt reluctant to provide financial information.
This is also clear from the high percentages disagreeing
with the statements (43.4%and 53.3%, respectively). Yet,
even though so many respondents did not talk about their
finances, it is interesting that 57.3%indicated that they felt
money communication should take place.
Of all eight statements, three directly address percep-
tions, biases and comfort with regard to money
communication:
I talk about my financial situation/status.
I feel that you should talk about money.
I feel comfortable discussing financial matters.
It is therefore useful to analyse the responses to these
particular statements in more detail. Tables 3 to 5 provide
cross-tabulations between the responses to the three state-
ments in an effort to determine their interrelationships. All
three Pearson w
2
values were found to be less than 0.05,
indicating significant relationships.
Table 3 indicates that 31.7%of the respondents who felt
that money should be talked about did not talk about
money. Thus, there is a very real conflict in these respon-
dents between the need to communicate about money and
the established convention of not discussing money. A rel-
atively large percentage (68.3%) of the respondents who
felt that money should be talked about, however, did actu-
ally talk about it. It is not remarkable to discover that 90.5%
of those felt one should not talk about money did not talk
about it.
Table 4 presents the relationship between feeling com-
fortable or uncomfortable and talking or not talking about
money. Quite a large percentage (42.4%) of the respon-
dents indicated that they did not talk about money even
though they felt comfortable doing so. This could be attri-
butable to the fact that these individuals were prioritizing
the social taboo over their personal willingness to discuss
the topic.
Table 5 addresses the relationship between feeling com-
fortable or uncomfortable and whether one should or
should not talk about money. Not surprisingly, the majority
of the respondents (82.1%) who felt that one should talk
about money also felt comfortable doing so and most (70%)
of those who felt one should not talk about it felt uncom-
fortable doing so.
Table 6 presents the results of a regression analysis of
the responses to the three statements. Due to stepwise
regression, only the significant relationships are displayed.
From the statistics, it seems that, in order to talk about
money, an individual has to feel that money should be
talked about. Interestingly, comfort about the subject does
not seem to be a predictor of whether or not a person will
talk about it. This implies that one does not need to feel
comfortable about it, but rather that it is something that
should be done: the regression results indicate that talking
about money and the perception that money communica-
tion should take place are interdependent. If an individual
feels that money communication is important, then he or
she will make an effort to talk about it. Also, the more
individuals talk about money, the more they will think such
discussion is something that should take place. The final
result in the table indicates that if an individual feels that
money should be talked about, he or she will tend to
become more comfortable about doing it.
Limitations and future research
Given that communication about money is a taboo subject,
this study attempted to explore only basic perceptions, atti-
tudes and biases towards that specific subject, as the
Table 3. Cross-tabulation and w
2
significance for responses to ‘I
talk about my financial situation/status’ and ‘I feel that you should
talk about money’.
Talk Don’t talk Total Significance
Should not talk 9.5% 90.5% 100% 0.000
Should talk 68.3% 31.7% 100%
Table 5. Cross-tabulation and w
2
significance for responses to ‘I
feel that you should talk about money’ and ‘I feel comfortable
discussing financial matters’.
Feel
comfortable
Feel
uncomfortable Total Significance
Should talk 82.1% 17.9% 100% 0.000
Should not
talk
30.0% 70.0% 100%
Table 4. Cross-tabulation and w
2
significance for responses to ‘I
talk about my financial situation/status’ and ‘I feel comfortable
discussing financial matters’.
Talk Don’t talk Total Significance
Feel comfortable 57.6% 42.4% 100% 0.014
Feel uncomfortable 27.3% 72.7% 100%
Alsemgeest 5
respondents had chosen a career in the financial planning
industry. Therefore, the sole aim was to obtain that infor-
mation without taking other factors into account (such as
the social, cultural and psychological aspects of the indi-
viduals in relation to money and personal finance). Further-
more, the population group was relatively small, as it was
from one university in one country, and so generalization of
the results is inadvisable.
Possible future research might involve:
duplicating the study to take other subject areas into
account and compare how perceptions differ from
those of financial planning students;
including financial planning students from other uni-
versities in a comparative study;
measuring financial planners already working in the
industry and testing their perceptions about money
communication and the challenges they have expe-
rienced in getting clients to open up about personal
finance; and
characterizing respondents in terms of culture, social
status, gender and psychological profile and testing
the differences in perceptions of the topic.
Conclusion
The need for full disclosure about financial matters and
affairs in the financial planning profession is in conflict
with the deep-rooted perception that money is an off-
limits subject. Financial planners need to collect all finan-
cial information from their clients: if they do not, they are
likely to be less than effective in ensuring a healthy finan-
cial future for them. It is therefore essential for a client to
feel comfortable enough to open up about his or her
finances and for the financial planner to be able to talk
openly about these details.
The fundamental intention of this article is to offer some
insight into the perceptions of financial planning students
about money communication, their biases and their
willingness to talk about money. The questionnaire survey
found that the majority of respondents felt that money com-
munication should take place even though they did not talk
about their finances and did not necessarily feel comforta-
ble about doing so. This result could indicate that, given
their interests and decision to study for a career in the
financial planning industry, these respondents are likely
to realize more than others that money communication is
both important and necessary – the result is therefore
expected and corresponds with the financial planning
industry literature (Botha et al., 2014). However, the survey
findings also indicate that the deep-rooted convention of
not talking about money matters challenges this belief in
the necessity of doing so. There seemed to be an inner
conflict in many of the respondents between what they
knew they should be doing and the unease or reluctance
they felt with regard to actually doing it. This conclusion
supports the contentions in the literature that money is
regarded as an intensely private matter (Aldridge, 1998)
and that social norms and culture are very hard to break
(Belk and Wallendorf, 1990).
The regression analysis (Table 6) confirms that talking
about money and the perception that money communica-
tion should take place are interdependent. To get people to
talk about money, they must be convinced that it is impor-
tant to do and that such discussion should take place. We do
not necessarily have to feel comfortable about it in order to
start talking about money, but we do need to perceive it as
important. Consequently, it is necessary to change percep-
tions that it is a subject that should not be talked about.
However, culture, family values, experiences and emotions
all contribute to one’s overall attitude towards money
(Lowrance, 2011): the taboo is embedded in many societies
and it will not be a quick or easy process to shift percep-
tions and attitudes.
A complete reversal of this taboo may not be possible.
However, to increase open communication on financial
matters, perceptions will have to be changed through edu-
cation. With regard to financial planning students in par-
ticular, the need for money communication both personally
Table 6. Regression analysis.
Beta coefficient tSignificance
Dependent variable: ‘I talk about my financial situation/status’
Predictor
‘I feel that you should talk about money’ 0.457 5.578 0.000
Dependent variable: ‘I feel that you should talk about money’
Predictors
‘I talk about my financial situation/status’ 0.389 4.696 0.000
‘I feel comfortable discussing financial
matters’
0.239 2.889 0.005
Dependent variable: ‘I feel comfortable to discuss financial matters’
Predictor
‘I feel that you should talk about money’ 0.349 4.051 0.000
6Industry and Higher Education
and professionally should be made clear. It may be neces-
sary to develop greater emotional intelligence in students
and even current financial planners so that they are better
able to read non-verbal cues and signs, as well as to adopt
strategies that will help the client feel more comfortable by
fostering trust. One approach is to encourage students to
talk about money to their families and friends, with whom
they may feel most at ease. These conversations with fam-
ily and friends can eventually be developed into small
group discussions and later to larger class discussions.
Thus, the conversations start in a small, personal setting
to foster ease and familiarity with the subject, and in due
course are extended to larger and more challenging set-
tings. Such approaches will help to overcome the chal-
lenges presented by the sensitivity of the topic and thus
will assist the students to acquire the necessary experience
and skills to enable their clients to feel at ease when talking
about money and so to receive the most appropriate finan-
cial advice and guidance.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship and/or publication of this article.
References
Abdullah A (2013) Examining the value of money in England
over the long term (1259–2009). International Journal of Eco-
nomics and Finance 5(3): 73–89.
Aldridge A (1998) Habitus and cultural capital in the field of
personal finance. Sociological Review 46: 1–23.
Allan K and Burridge K (2006) Forbidden Words: Taboo and the
Censoring of Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Appadurai A (1986) Introduction: commodities and the politics of
value. In: Appadurai A (ed), The Social Life of Things: Com-
modities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, pp. 3–63.
Babbie E (2010) The Practice of Social Research. 12th ed. Wads-
worth: Cengage Learning.
Belk RW and Wallendorf M (1990) The sacred meanings of
money. Journal of Economic Psychology 11(1): 35–67.
Betti G, Dourmashkin N, Rossi M, et al. (2007) Consumer over-
indebtedness in the EU: measurement and characteristics.
Journal of Economic Studies 34(2): 136–156.
Botha M, Rossini L, Geach W, et al. (2014) The South African
Financial Planning Handbook. Durban: LexisNexis.
Chaplin LN and John DR (2010) Interpersonal influences on ado-
lescent materialism: a new look at the role of parents and
peers. Journal of Consumer Psychology 20: 176–184.
Dubofsky D and Sussman L (2009) The changing role of the
financial planner, Part 1: from financial analytics to coach-
ing and life planning. Journal of Financial Planning 22(8):
48–57.
Dyer AW (1989) Making semiotic sense of money as a medium of
exchange. Journal of Economic Issues 23(2): 503–510.
Furnham A and Argyle M (2008) The Psychology of Money. New
York: Routledge.
Freud S (1908) Character and Anal Eroticism. London: Hogarth.
Georgarakos D, Halassos M and Pasini G (2012) Household Debt
and Social Interactions. Netspar Discussion Paper. Available
at: http://ssrn.com/abstract¼2181948 (accessed 26 August
2016).
Goodwin R (2008) Social support and the wealthy porcupine:
pain, social support, money, and culture. Psychological
Inquiry 19: 179–185.
Herbert C (2002) Filthy lucre: Victorian ideas of money. Victor-
ian Studies 44(2): 185–213.
Klontz BT, Bivens A, Klontz PT, et al. (2008) The treatment of
disordered money behaviours: results of an open clinical trial.
Psychological Services 5(3): 295–308.
Krueger DW (1986) A self-psychological view of money. In:
The Last Taboo: Money as Symbol and Reality in Psy-
chotherapy and Psychoanalysis. New York: Brunner/Mazel,
pp 24–32.
Lowrance J (2011) Dismantling the Money Taboo: Mental Health
Professionals’ Call to Action. White Paper. Available at:
http://www.financialpsychologyceus.com/Money-Taboo-
White-Paper.pdf (accessed 26 August 2016).
Maslow AH (1943) A theory of human motivation. Psychological
Review 50(4): 370–396.
McKinnon RI (2001) The problem of dollar encroachment in
emerging markets. Journal of Policy Modelling 23(3):
301–319.
Ng’ang’a MJ and Nyongesa WJ (2012) The impact of organisa-
tional culture on performance of educational institutions.
International Journal of Business and Social Science 3(8):
211–217.
Rynes SL, Gerhart B and Minette KA (2004) The importance of
pay in employee motivation: discrepancies between what peo-
ple say and what they do. Human Resource Management
43(4): 381–394.
Salkind NJ (2003) Exploring Research.5thed.UpperSaddle
River: Prentice Hall.
Sardoni C (2008) Some notes on the nature of money and the
future of monetary policy. Review of Social Economy 66(4):
523–537.
Shulman L (2008) Learning to talk about taboo subjects: a life-
long professional challenge. Social Works with Groups 25(1–
2): 139–150.
Simmel G (2004) The Philosophy of Money. 3rd ed. New York:
Routledge.
Trachtman R (1999) The money taboo: its effects in everyday life
and in the practice of psychotherapy. Clinical Social Work
Journal 27(3): 275–288.
Alsemgeest 7
Wang C-C, Cheng Y-Y, Chiou W-B, et al. (2012) Shame for
money: shame enhances the incentive value of economic
resources. Judgement and Decision Making 7(1): 77–85.
Weisgram ES, Bigler RS and Liben LS (2010) Gender, values,
and occupational interests among children, adolescents and
adults. Child Development 81(3): 778–796.
Wilkinson R and Pickett K (2011) The Spirit Level: Why Greater
Equality Makes Societies Stronger. New York: Bloomsbury
Press.
Wilson G (1987) Money: patterns of responsibility and irrespon-
sibility in marriage. In: Brannen J and Wilson G (eds), Give
and Take in Families: Studies in Resource Distribution. Lon-
don: Allen and Unwin, pp 136–152.
Zhang L (2009) An exchange theory of money and self-esteem in
decision making. Review of General Psychology 13(1): 66–76.
Zhou X, Vohs KD and Baumeister RF (2009) The symbolic power
of money: reminders of money alter social distress and phys-
ical pain. Psychological Science 20(6): 700–706.
8Industry and Higher Education
