Abstract: The objective of this study is to determine the psychological mechanism by which money perception affects risk decision-making from the perspectives of relative scarcity and relative abundance. We will reveal the impact of perceived money scarcity and abundance on individual risk decision-making through laboratory and field experiments, cross-temporal tracking empirical research, and eye movement behavioral experiments.
In Study 1, we will deconstruct the dimensions of perceived money scarcity and abundance and construct an item bank. Through processes such as purifying initial items, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and repeated testing, we will establish a perceived money scarcity and abundance scale. In Study 2, we will test the impact of perceived money scarcity and abundance on high- or low-risk decision-making (risk perception, expected return, risk choice) through behavioral experiments. In Study 3, we will establish the cognitive mechanism of the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on high- or low-risk decision-making, and we will test the effects of the mediators of cognitive bias, cognitive reflection, and executive control in the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making. In Study 4, we will determine the emotional mechanism of the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on the tendency to promote high- or low-risk decision-making, and we will examine the mediating role of specific scarcity and abundance emotions in perceived money scarcity and abundance promoting high- and low-risk decision-making.
Following are the contributions of this research:
First, we will reveal the effect of money scarcity and abundance from the perspective of relative perception, and we will define and deconstruct the perceived money scarcity and abundance based on physiological information and psychological characteristics. These results will provide a new explanation for the impact of relative poverty on risk decision-making. Additionally, by exploring the definition of perceived money abundance and its impact on risk judgment and selection processes, we will enrich the research results and conclusions of risk decision-making and money effect theories. Moreover, by introducing perceived money scarcity, especially the perceived money abundance, into the field of risk decision-making, we will further enrich the key influencing factors of the “black box” of risk decision-making and expand the knowledge boundaries of factors influencing risk decision-making.
Second, based on cognitive functions (cognitive biases, cognitive reflection, executive control), we will test the mediating effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making, which will provides an explanatory pathway for the cognitive mechanisms of risk decision-making. Additionally, by introducing cognitive biases, cognitive reflection, and executive control into the fields of money perception and risk decision-making, we will not only empirically verify the research results of the effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on decision-making processes from a behavioral perspective but also expand the application of cognitive decision biases and cognitive reflection.
Third, by testing the mediating role of the money scarcity and abundance emotions on the effects of money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making, we will provide a new explanatory pathway for the emotional mechanisms of risk decision-making. The construction of the scale of money scarcity and abundance will more precisely define this relationship from an emotional perspective, deepening understanding in related fields of the relationships among money effects, emotional states, and risk decision-making.
Fourth, all individuals may face situations of money scarcity or abundance. By exploring the cognitive and emotional mechanisms through which money scarcity and abundance influence risk decision-making, it is possible to predict, control, and intervene in risk decision-making at the individual, organizational, and specific population levels. Such a possibility can play an important role for individuals, their families and work organizations, and society as a whole. Taking enterprise management as an example, at the level of enterprise and organizational management, uncovering the effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on important risk decisions of enterprise managers and employees in the workplace, as well as their psychological mechanisms, can help us positively guide improvements in the performance of managers and employees and prevent counterproductive and negative deviant behaviors at both the group and individual levels.

Key words: perceived scarcity, perceived abundance, risky decisions, cognition, emotion