Characterising University Students’ Attitudes Toward Unsafe Economic Behavior

Aim. To identify peculiarities of students’ attitudes toward unsafe economic behaviour.

Methodology. The study involved 252 undergraduate students from a financial and economic university (M = 18.7; SD = 1.35, 35% male). Unsafe economic behaviour is understood as actions performed by a bank customer under the influence of fraudsters, as well as the actions of a bank teller interacting with such a customer. To assess attitudes toward unsafe economic behaviour, a set of questions and the specially developed “teller’s dilemma” were used. To assess individual characteristics of students the following instruments were applied: Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire by V. I. Morosanova – SRPQ-M, the Extra-Short Version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-2-XS), and the Short Version of Scales from J. Duckitt’s methodology.

Results. Regardless of their experience of interaction with fraudsters, students believe that victims of fraud deserve compassion rather than condemnation. High levels of agreeableness and awareness of one’s methods and algorithms are associated with empathy for victims of fraud. High levels of conventionalism and belief in a competitive world, while low agreeableness, increase expectations that the teller will act legally and pay the client on demand.

Research implication. For the first time, economic behaviour is analysed in terms of safe and unsafe categories. This expands our ability to interpret the mechanisms of its implementation and to formulate practical recommendations. Guidelines for bank tellers should be developed in such a way that no contradiction arises between performance indicators (KPIs) and actions aimed at ensuring the financial security of clients who are under the influence of fraudsters.

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