Approximately 500 participants were recruited by researchers visiting a national financial literacy convention to investigate financial self-regulation and impulse control. The researchers used a cross-sectional design. The participants' willingness to delay gratification and self-reported spending habits were measured, and their results were grouped into income brackets.
To measure delayed gratification, participants played a simulated budgeting game on a mobile phone where they had to decide whether to purchase immediate virtual luxury items (e.g., a virtual sports car) or deposit virtual earnings into a long-term retirement fund. Participants chose either 'spend' or 'invest' by tapping on-screen buttons. The researchers expected the most financially self-regulated individuals to make investing decisions the quickest and to accumulate the maximum virtual net worth.
To measure real-world spending habits, participants were asked to self-report the exact amount of money (to the nearest pound) they had spent on non-essential impulse purchases in the past 7 days.
Identify and explain one weakness of the 'Frugal Futures' study in terms of validity.
638 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Methods. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.