Monetary Wisdom: Monetary Aspirations Impact Decision-Making

Money is the instrument of commerce and a measure of value. Globalization has created economic prosperity for citizens around the world. These challenges have changed how people work, live, and do business. Monetary Wisdom: Monetary Aspirations and Decision-Making presents an excellent collection of innovative and a multi-cultural view of how money has affected decision making not only at an individual level but at organizational level. This book discusses the powerful motivators of money and the connection to ethical decision-making both in organizations and social life.

• Inspires readers to learn one of the world’s most often used money attitude measures
• Notices that, in modern societies, money is power at the individual level
• Suggests that monetary aspirations (not money itself) predict cheating
• Profiles that reducing stress curbs dishonesty directly and indirectly
• Illustrates that leaders promote employees’ honesty and creativity
• Reveals how corruption expands prospect theory to a global level
• Explores the contexts to achieve balanced aspirations and serenity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: May 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9780443154546

Book preview

9780443154546_FC

Monetary Wisdom

Monetary Aspirations Impact Decision-Making

First Edition

Thomas Li-Ping Tang

Department of Management, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN, United States

Image 1

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Contributors

Acknowledgment and Dedication

Introduction Monetary wisdom: Crafting an inspirational, memorable, and practical theory and telling an interesting story

Monetary Wisdom: A definition

Connecting a rigorous scientific mind and a creative artistic brain

Basic constructs

The theoretical background of money and the meaning of money

Behavioral economics and Monetary Wisdom

Four types of measurement scales

When money talks, everyone listens

Measuring the attitude toward money

Incorporate contextualization

Becoming choice architects and ethical and moral decision-makers

Developing an inspirational, memorable, and practical theory

Time is money

Neural ballet

References

Section A: Money, monetary values, and motivation

Chapter 1 Money is power: The love of money and materialism among Czech university students

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix A

References

Chapter 2 Are you satisfied with your pay when you compare? It depends on your love of money, pay comparison standards, and culture

Abstract

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Section B: Monetary values, temptation, and dark consequences

Chapter 3 Falling or not falling into temptation? Multiple faces of temptation, monetary wisdom, and unethical intentions across genders

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 4 Temptation, monetary wisdom (the love of money attitudes), and environmental context on unethical intentions and cheating

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 5 Avaricious justice-seeking dishonesty—Aspiration, dissatisfaction, and low transparency incite cheating: The dark side of monetary decision-making

Abstract

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 6 Theory of monetary wisdom: Money attitudes predict religious values, making money, making ethical decisions, and making the grade—Academic achievement

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 7 Is the love of money the root of all evils? Income, the love of money, pay satisfaction, commitment, and unethical intentions among Hong Kong professionals

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Appendix A Items of the love of money scale (LOMS)

References

Chapter 8 Intelligence vs. wisdom: Does ethics intervention enhance learning and virtue? Money, the love of money, Machiavellianism, and dishonesty across majors and genders

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Moderator

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 9 Behavioral economics and Monetary Wisdom: The Enron Effect—Love of money, Corporate Ethical Values, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and dishonesty across 31 geopolitical entities

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 10 Behavioral economics and monetary wisdom: A cross-level analysis of monetary aspiration, pay (dis)satisfaction, risk perception, and corruption in 32 nations

Abstract

Introduction

Theory and hypothesis

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Section C: Leadership, creativity, and honesty

Chapter 11 Do leader and member perceptions of the LMX excite member creativity? The mediating role of employee positive emotion

Abstract

Acknowledgment

Theoretical background and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Hypothesis testing

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 12 Love of Money and unethical behavior intentions: Do perceptions of Authentic Supervisors' Personal Integrity and Character (ASPIRE) make a difference?

Abstract

Acknowledgment

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix A

References

Chapter 13 Does moral leadership enhance employee creativity? Employee identification with the leader and leader-member exchange (LMX) as two mediators: Discovery from China’s emergent market

Abstract

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 14 Do victims of supervisor bullying suffer from poor creativity? Social cognitive and social comparison perspectives

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Compliance with Ethical Standards

References

Chapter 15 Do ethical leaders enhance employee ethical behaviors? Organizational justice and ethical climate as dual mediators and leader moral attentiveness as a moderator: Empirical support from Iraq’s emerging market

Abstract

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Section D: Monetary Wisdom, well-being, global challenges, and implications

Chapter 16 Does interpersonal justice enhance organizational loyalty? A theory of justice, organizational citizenship behavior, and individualism: Testimony from Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 17 European airline cockpit and cabin crew well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown: Does union satisfaction have a buffering effect on mental health, organizational dehumanization, medication use, and job insecurity?

Abstract

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Appendix

References

Chapter 18 The Matthew Effect in Monetary Wisdom

Abstract

Acknowledgment

Introduction

The Matthew Effect in the Holy Bible

What are the meanings of possessions/talents?

The Matthew Effect in scientific research

The Matthew Effect at the individual level

The Matthew Effect at the corporate-industry level

The Matthew Effect at the global level-CSR

Agency theory

Tournament theory

Selected empirical studies on tournament theory

Other management theories

The Matthew Effect in monetary wisdom

Implications

Conclusion

References

Chapter 19 Detecting honest people’s lies in handwriting: The power of the Ten Commandments and internalized ethical values

Abstract

Graphology and handwriting analysis

A theoretical model of communication and detecting lies

The major principles of detecting lies

A case study

Conclusion

References

Chapter 20 Behavioral economics and Monetary Wisdom across 32 cultures: Good apples enjoy a good quality of life in good barrels

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 21 Youth materialism and consumer ethics: Gen Z adolescents’ self-concepts (power and self-esteem) as dual mediators and culture (China vs. France) as a moderator

Abstract

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Chapter 22 Monetary wisdom’s practical implications—Does mindfulness excite ethical intentions via diminished avaricious monetary aspirations? Mindfulness training, timing, and practice

Abstract

Theory and hypotheses

Method

Results

Discussion

Limitations and future research

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Chapter 23 Consumer behavioral economics and monetary wisdom—A penny saved is a penny earned: Monetary intelligence and emotional intelligence impact financial decision-making

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Theory and hypotheses

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix A

References

Index

Copyright

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Contributors

Numbers in parenthesis indicate the pages on which the authors' contributions begin.

Rehana Aafaqi 241     Dhillon School of Business, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Bolanle E. Adetoun 193     Economic Commission of West Africa, Abuja, Nigeria

Modupe F. Adewuyi 193     WellStar School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, United States

Adebowale Akande 193,215,427

IR Global Cross-Cul Research, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Independent Research Collaboration, Durban, South Africa

Hussam Al Halbusi 317     Management Department, Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College (ABMMC), Doha, Qatar

Michael W. Allen 193,215,427

Department of Marketing, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

İpek University, Ankara, Turkey

Abdulqawi Salim Al-Zubaidi 193,215,427

Department of Psychology, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Sanáa University, Sanáa, Yemen

Mahfooz A. Ansari 193,215,241,427     Dhillon School of Business, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Fernando Arias-Galicia 193,215,427     Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Mark G. Borg 193,215,427     Faculty of Education, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

Luigina Canova 193,215,427     Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Brigitte Charles-Pauvers 193,215,427     IAE, University of Nantes, Nantes, France

Jingqiu Chen 81,105,193,215,427     Management and Organization Department, Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Yuh-Jia Chen 165     Department of Information Management, School of Management, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan

Bor-Shiuan Cheng 193,215,427     Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Randy Ki-Kwan Chiu 149,193,215,427     Department of Management, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Rosário Correia 193,215,427     School of Communication and Media Studies, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Carole Daniel 481     SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Lille, France

Consuelo Garcia De La Torre 193,215,427     Department of Marketing Administration, Technological Institute of Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

Linzhi Du 193,215,427     School of Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China

Renáta Fatěnová15     Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Ilya E. Garber 193,215,427     Department of Social Psychology of Education and Development, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia

Elodie Gentina 455,481     Department of Marketing, IÉSEG School of Management, LEM-CNRS (UMR 9221), University of Lille, Lille, France

Qinxuan Gu 277,295     Management and Organization Department, Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Abdul Hamid Safwat Ibrahim 193,215,427     Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Chin-Kang Jen 193,215,427     National Sun-Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Wan Jiang 277,295     Department of Management, College of Management & Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China

Ali Mahdi Kazem 193,215,427     Department of Psychology, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Kilsun Kim 193,215,427     Department of Business Administration, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea

Karel Lemr 15     Joint Laboratory of Optics of Palacký University and Institute of Physics of Czech Academy of Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Soňa Lemrová15     Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Faculty of Education, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Tan Siew Len 241     Intel Products (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia

Zhen Li 215     College of Business, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX, United States

Jian Liang 193,427     Management and Organization Department, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Vivien Kim Geok Lim 193,215,427     Department of Management and Organization, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Hsi Liu 255

Mercer University, Mercer University Drive

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States

Roberto Luna-Arocas 37,193,215,427     Department of Management, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Eva Malovics 193,215,427     Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

Anna Maria Manganelli 193,215,427     Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Alice S. Moreira 193,215,427     Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil

Richard T. Mpoyi 193,215,427     Department of Management, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, United States

Obiajulu Anthony Ugochukwu Nnedum 193,215,427     Department of Psychology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

Johnston E. Osagie 193,215,427     School of Business and Industry, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, United States

AAhad M. Osman-Gani 193,215,427     Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University of Malaysia, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mehmet Ferhat Özbek 193,215,341,427

Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Gümüşhane University, Gümüşhane, Turkey

Department of Management, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, The City University of New York, NY, United States

Francisco José Costa Pereira 193,215,427     Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal

Ruja Pholsward 193,215,427     Rangsit University, Muang, Pathum Thani, Thailand

Adrian H. Pitariu 215     Faculty of Business Administration, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada

Horia D. Pitariu 193,427     Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Marko Polic 193,215,427     Department of Psychology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

T. Ramayah 317     School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

Eva Reiterová15     Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Elisaveta Gjorgji Sardžoska 193,215,427     Faculty of Philosophy, University St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia

Petar Skobic 193,215,427     Club 500 Real Estate Network, LLC, Sheridan, WY, United States

Allen F. Stembridge 193,215,427     School of Business Administration, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, United States

Toto Sutarso 53,193,215,427     Division of Information Technology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, United States

Ningyu Tang 81,105,193,215,427

Management and Organization Department, Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai

International Business School, Hainan University, Hainan, People's Republic of China

Theresa Li-Na Tang 193,215,427,505     Tang Global Consulting Group, Franklin, TN, United States

Thomas Li-Ping Tang 15,37,53,81,105,125,149,165,193,215,255,277,295,317,341,387,407,427,455,481,505     Department of Management, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, United States

Thompson Sian Hin Teo 193,215,427     Department of Analytics and Operations, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Martina Trontelj 193,427     Department of Psychology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Caroline Urbain 193,215,427     IAE, University of Nantes, Nantes, France

Lien Valcke 361     Faculty of Law and Criminology, Department of Criminal Law, Criminology and Social Law, Ghent University, Campus Universiteitstraat, Ghent, Belgium

Peter Vlerick 193,215,361,427     Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

Kent A. Williams 317     Rowe School of Business, Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

Mohammad Asif Yoldash 341     Department of International Trade and Business Management, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Avrasya University, Trabzon, Turkey

Acknowledgment and Dedication

I would like to thank my colleagues, students, friends, 66 distinguished collaborators representing more than 37 cultures across 6 continents, and our respective universities for continuous encouragement and support.

Thanks to my wife, Theresa Li-Na Tang, and our parents, Professor Kuan-Ying Tang, Mrs. Fang Chen Chu Tang, Mr. Chao-Kai Chang, and Mrs. Hwei-Hwa Sun Chang; our two wonderful children, Cindy S. Tang Harris and David S. Tang; and grandchildren for their love.

My thanks go to Professor Chia-Yu Liu, Professor Chi-Wei Koo, Dr. Roy F. Baumeister, Dr. Marc Singer, Dr. Adrian Furnham, and EIC Dr. Alex C. Michalos for their excellent career advice and care; Dr. Brigitte Charles-Pauvers for sparking my cross-cultural research project; and Fr. Wiatt Funk, Fr. Mark Sappenfield, Fr. John Sims Baker, and Fr. Chris Nunes for inspiration. I dedicate this book to all of those who have made a difference in my life with Love.

Editor in Chief

Thomas Li-Ping Tang

Introduction Monetary wisdom: Crafting an inspirational, memorable, and practical theory and telling an interesting story

Thomas Li-Ping Tang, Department of Management, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, United States

There Is Nothing More Practical Than a Good Theory.

Curt Lewin

Following Kurt Lewin’s (1951) statement, a good theory guides effective actions by turning knowledge into wisdom. Scholars, like you, may ask: What makes an article famous, influential, inspirational, and memorable? Why does it matter? The answer is simple.

An excellent paper has a compelling theory. Specifically, the authors craft an original and brand-new theory by asking innovative research questions, providing excellent conceptual development, well-constructed logical arguments, demonstrating lavish, rich, and unique insights, and a deep understanding of the relevant literature. Readers see the theory as not only true but also challenging the traditional assumptions in some significant way (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2011, p. 247), offering counterintuitive discoveries, providing not only aha (what is new here?) but also so-what (what can we do with these new findings?) (Tang, 2021a, p. 185). A good theory (what, how, why, who, where, and when) sets the hook and attracts readers’ attention (see editorials: Bartunek et al., 2006; Campbell & Aguilera, 2022; Colquitt & George, 2011; Colquitt & Zapata-Phelan, 2007; Grant & Pollock, 2011; Rynes, 2005; Sutton & Staw, 1995; Thomas et al., 2011). Artistically crafted narratives create the sequence of events that ultimately invite you to physically become a part of the story, emotionally stir your soul, capture your heart, hold your sustained attention, and fire your imagination, creating an impressive, realistic, and sustainable impact to the reader and the literature (Zak, 2014; Zak et al., 2022). Specifically, using active verbs, first-person pronouns, present tense, emotional language, and a simple style can make the content current, in the moment, easy to read and remember, increase authors’ perceived authority, knowledge, and personal ownership of arguments, and boost communication’s impact, the sharing of ideas, success, and citations (Boghrati et al., 2023).

Monetary Wisdom: A definition

What is Monetary Wisdom Theory? Monetary Wisdom Theory explores how decision-makers select their deep-rooted personal values (e.g., the love of money/ardent monetary aspirations, emotional intelligence, and other essential constructs), apply their rigorous and creative scientific mind, view it through an artistic lens, incorporate contextualization, and frame the challenging moral issues—"good cases in the immediate-proximal and distal-omnibus contexts—good barrels. The goal is to help individuals become good apples," choice architects, and moral and ethical decision-makers to maximize expected utility—make and save money and ultimate serenity—be happy. This decision-making process may exist across contexts, people, and time at the individual, organizational, and global levels. Individuals (Level 1) are nested in the immediate (organization, Level 2) and distal (country/global, Level 3) contexts. The contexts (Levels 2 or 3) exert a greater downward influence on individuals’ attitudes and behaviors (Level 1) than vice versa (Andersson et al., 2014, p. 1068; Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2021). Values, contextualization, scientific mind (left brain), and artistic lens (right brain) help our reader become a choice architect, and ethical and moral decision-maker, making healthy, wealthy, and happy decisions in your life (Banerjee & Duflo, 2019; Chen et al., 2022, 2024b; Johns, 2006, 2017; Kish-Gephart et al., 2010; Merton, 1968; Rousseau & Fried, 2001; Tang, 2016; Tang et al., 2022, 2023; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Canova, et al., 2018a; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Cheng, et al., 2018b; Thaler, 2015; Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). I will briefly introduce these key aspects in the later sections.

Connecting a rigorous scientific mind and a creative artistic brain

Researchers have tested the notion that scientific geniuses are polymaths (sages) and used the average number of arts and craft avocations to compare across five groups of people—Nobel Prize winners, typical scientists (Royal Society members in the United Kingdom and National Academy of Sciences members in the United States), and ordinary people (Sigma Xi members and the US public) (Root-Bernstein et al., 2006). Compared to typical scientists (Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences members), Nobel Prize winners are 22 times more likely to be an amateur performer (actors, dancers, and magicians), 12 times more likely to be a writer (poetry and short stories), 7.5 times more likely to be a craftsperson (woodwork and glasswork), 7 times more likely to be an artist (visual artist and sculptor), and 2 times more likely to be a practicing musician. Successful scientists accrue a wider range of patterns, manipulative ability, and hand-eye coordination, than the average person or the average scientist (p. 54). Nobel Prize winners are not only eminent scientists but also artists. It takes two to tango and the combination of science and arts to become extraordinary Nobel Laureates.

Basic constructs

Following the widely accepted common wisdom, that the love of money is the root of all evils, my collaborators and I have empirically developed several psychological constructs or measurement scales in the literature. I present the application of these constructs in selected chapters: (1) the love of money (Tang, 1992; Tang & Chiu, 2003; Chapters 7, 10, and 20), (2) the propensity to engage in unethical behaviors covering several specific aspects of the evils—corruption or dishonesty (Chen & Tang, 2006; Tang & Chiu, 2003; Chapters 7, 9, and 10), (3) temptations (Chen et al., 2014; Tang & Sutarso, 2013; Chapters 3 and 4), and (4) ASPIRE—perceptions of Authentic Supervisors’ (Leaders') Personal Integrity and Character (Tang & Liu, 2012; Chapter 12).

People associate the love of money with greed, creating strong negative connotations. To avoid the negative connotations of greed and the love of money, scholars may use neutral terms for empirical research, e.g., attitudes toward money or ardent monetary aspirations. Interestingly, scholars around the world have applied the love of money construct consistently in their empirical studies—using surveys and laboratory experiments—supporting the notion of monetary wisdom in more than 50 countries across six continents globally. This book challenges common assumptions, revealing not only the dark side but also the bright side of individuals’ decision-making. A high love of money score leads to corruption and dishonesty (intentions) in survey studies (Chapters 7, 9, and 10) and predicts cheating (behaviors) in laboratory experiments (Chapters 4 and 5). A low love of money score (ardent monetary aspiration), however, may lead to pay satisfaction and life satisfaction (Chapter 20) and predict high academic achievement or final course grade (Chapter 6). Further, it predicts longitudinal stock happiness (Tang, Chen, et al., 2018; Tang et al., 2022).

I briefly retrace the roots of my research. Toward the end of WWII, Japan surrendered on August 15 and formally signed the document on September 2, 1945. After WWII, Japan returned Taiwan to China. My father, Professor Kuan Ying Tang, with a venturesome fortitude, took risks and ventured from China to Taiwan in 1946 and became the Director of Registration at the National Taiwan University. My mother, Mrs. Feng Chen Chu Tang, and my uncle, Mr. Kuan Hsiung Tang, followed suit a year later. Professor Tang was one of the four founding fathers, who established the first Psychology Department, in Taiwan, at National Taiwan University in 1949. I was born in Taiwan. In college, I was the number one in my class and completed my B.S. degree in psychology. My father set a goal and a mission for me—completing a Ph.D. degree in the United States.

After studying at the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, for one year, the Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, offered me a full scholarship and a stipend. I accepted CWRU’s offer for several reasons. CWRU was one of the eight largest I/O Psychology programs in the United States at one time. Professor Frederick Herzberg was the Department Chair, who developed the Motivator-Hygiene Theory of Work Motivation and published his famous article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR)—One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review published the original article in 1968 and republished it in 1987 and 2003. In 1987, HBR sold more than 1.2 million reprints of Herzberg’s 1968 article, making it the number one article that "ever appeared between HBR's covers" (Herzberg, 1987). Although I have not studied under him in person, I became a true disciple of Professor Frederick Herzberg in spirit.

Herzberg challenged the most common belief—money is a motivator. He argued that money is a hygiene factor. Why? Most people work for money. After spending all the money at the end of the month, satisfaction with pay goes back to zero. Most importantly, the zero point escalates: The more money you have, the more you want. Further, dissatisfaction with pay lasts three times longer than satisfaction with pay. It supports the notion that bad is stronger than good (Baumeister et al., 2001). Herzberg’s theory does not deal with individuals’ attitudes toward money, an individual-difference variable. I spotted a significant theoretical gap, challenging the psychology literature.

In my Ph.D. program, I have enjoyed taking half of my elective courses at the Weatherhead School of Management at CWRU. I have studied under Professor Eric Nelsen (Harvard, Organizational Behavior), L. David Brown (Yale, Organization Development), Paul Salipante, Jr. (Chicago, Labor Relations and Compensation), and Julio N. Berrettoni (Minnesota, Forecasting). Therefore, I have excellent training across two domains: I/O Psychology and Business and Management.

Later, Professor Roy F. Baumeister came to the Psychology Department and became the youngest professor on campus. He has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Princeton University, one of the seven Ivy League schools. A disciple of Professor Edward E. Jones, Professor Baumeister finished his Ph.D. within 2 years. I was his first Ph.D. student and finished my Ph.D. degree under his supervision in 2 years. After I successfully defended my dissertation, Dr. Baumeister said to me: Now you can retire for the rest of your life. Professor Baumeister invited me to a lunch, a Princeton Tradition, with other professors. It was a great honor.

My father passed away a year before I finished my Ph.D. degree in 1980. After completing my Ph.D. (1981), I served as a visiting associate professor in the Psychology Department at National Taiwan University for 1 year (1982) to fulfill my father’s dream. I was the first and the only US-trained Ph.D.-level I/O psychologist in Taiwan at that time.

Professor Baumeister and I published my first paper in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Tang & Baumeister, 1984), challenging the notion that turning play into work will reduce children’s intrinsic motivation (e.g., Lepper & Greene, 1975). Indeed, for those who endorse the work ethic, Turning Play into Work does not reduce intrinsic motivation. Professor Adrian Furnham also stated: My hobby is work. I agree with Professor Furnham and Professor Baumeister and practice my theory, based on my dissertation, in my professional life. To have a very enjoyable journey and a meaningful life, people focus on the past, present, and future and be givers rather than takers (Baumeister et al., 2013). I love what I do and do what I love, helping others. For the past four decades, I have collaborated with more than 150 scholars around the world.

The theoretical background of money and the meaning of money

This book is about monetary wisdom—the relationships between people’s ardent monetary aspirations and decision-making. In economics, following the father of modern economic thinking, money is an instrument of commerce and a measure of value (Smith, 1776/1937). Around the world, money is the only language that everyone understands without speaking.

In psychology, the meaning of money is in the eye of the beholder (McClelland, 1967). Money, interestingly, has mysterious and magical qualities, multiple symbolic meanings, and numerous uses. Scholars have explored these issues of money, money attitudes, and various decision-making (Baumeister, 2002; Chen et al., 2014, 2024a, 2024b; Furnham, 2014; Furnham & Argyle, 1998; Gerhart, 2023; Kirchler, 2007; Mitchell & Mickel, 1999; Poff & Michalos, 2020; Tang, 1992, 1993, 2016, 2021b; Tang et al., 2022, 2023; Tang, Chen, et al., 2018; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Canova, et al., 2018a; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Cheng, et al., 2018b; Van Raaij, 2016; Yang et al., 2013; Zelizer, 1989; Zhou et al., 2009). Researchers treat money as a tool and a drug (Lea & Webley, 2006).

In our everyday lives, people think about money frequently. However, they rarely talk about it, their attitudes toward money, wealth, and financial decision-making, openly and publicly. Most discuss it only with very few people privately (Rubenstein, 1981). According to Pinsker, talking about money is taboo (Pinsker, 2020), which may vary across cultures. Consequently, there is a dearth of research on the attitudes toward money that impact the decision-making processes.

Behavioral economics and Monetary Wisdom

In behavioral economics, prospect theory frames decisions in the gains-losses domain and the high-low probability (Kahneman & Tversky, 1984; Tversky & Kahneman, 1981). Professor Daniel Kahneman, a 2002 Nobel Laureate, has considered the fourfold pattern of preferences as one of the core achievements of prospect theory (Kahneman, 2011, p. 317). The prospect theory covers (1) the certainty effect—risk aversion in gains and risk seeking in losses under a high probability context—and (2) the possibility effect—risk seeking in gains and risk aversion in losses under a low probability context (Tang et al., 2023). Following the prospect theory, a rational decision-maker prefers the prospect that offers the highest expected utility. Under the contexts of high-low probability, opposite behavioral patterns exist. Contexts matter. Scholars have considered prospect theory one of the most influential theoretical frameworks in social sciences.

Further, Kahneman has alluded to us that decision-maker characteristics influence their decision frame. Specifically, Kahneman points out: There may also be cultural differences in the attitude toward money, and especially toward the spending of money on whims and minor luxuries (2011, p. 298). According to Socrates, the first step to true wisdom is to know thyself. Following Socrates’ inspiration, I incorporate our attitude toward money (Kahneman, 2011, p. 298) in investigating monetary wisdom and individuals’ decision-making.

Richard H. Thaler, the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, incorporates psychologically realistic assumptions into analyses of economic decision-making. Interestingly, Thaler has offered the following challenging observation: Kahneman and Tversky’s experiments were typically done with nothing at stake, so for economists that meant they could be safely ignored (Thaler, 2015, p. 47). Further, prospect theory’s experiments involve simple scenarios (p. 37) or a one-shot game (p. 49). When researchers introduce real incentives in a laboratory setting, the stakes were typically low, just a few dollars (p. 48). Thus, we must dive deeper.

When making essential decisions, we must become choice architects. According to Thaler and Sunstein (2008), A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions (p. 3, emphasis added). Even small and apparently insignificant details can have major impacts on people’s behavior and everything matters (p. 3). Furthermore, our moral and ethical values help us make good choices, enhancing our happiness, health, and wealth.

This book, Monetary Wisdom: Monetary Aspirations Impact Decision-Making, follows the inspirations in the literature, carves out a unique niche, and helps people understand how monetary values impact decision-making, making the following contributions. First, Monetary Wisdom bridges the gaps between prospect theory, behavioral economics, business ethics, (un)ethical decision-making, subjective well-being (SWB), and happiness. My MERIT research team and I expand prospect theory’s simple scenarios (Thaler, 2015, p. 37) or a one-shot game (p. 47) to a multiple-level theory involving 6500 managers’ decision-making in 32 countries across six continents. A 3-D cross-level visualization of corruption across three levels of the global economic pyramid simultaneously demonstrates the bright and dark sides of managers’ decision-making and the validity of Monetary Wisdom (Tang et al., 2023). Please see some of the major accomplishments and novel discoveries of Monetary Wisdom in this book (Chapters 5, 8, 9, 10, 22, and 23, to name just a few) and Tang et al. (2022).

Second, besides exploring attitudes toward money and ardent monetary aspirations (Chapters 1–10), this book incorporates decision-makers additional critical constructs that are important to behavioral economics, consumer behavior, management, organizational behavior, and human resource management, e.g., materialism (Chapters 1 and 21), pay satisfaction (Chapter 2), Machiavellianism (Chapter 8), the Matthew Effect (Chapter 18), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training (Chapter 22), religiosity, the Ten Commandments, academic performance (Chapter 6), ASPIRE—Authentic Supervisors’ Personal Integrity and Character (Chapter 12), and emotional intelligence (EI) and the $.99-ending price preferences (Chapter 23).

Third, this book includes various contexts. For example, several chapters explore (1) open classrooms vs private cubicles (with transparency—good barrels vs without transparency—bad barrels) in the immediate environmental context—laboratory experiments (Chapters 4 and 5), and pay (dis)satisfaction, at the individual level (Chapters 5 and 10), (2) corporate ethical values (CEV) at the organizational level (Chapter 9), (3) unions in the European airline industry at the regional (continental) level (Chapter 17), and Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) (Chapters 9 and 10) and gross domestic product (GDP) (Chapter 20) at the global level. Further, scholars investigate (4) numerous dependent variables, e.g., behavioral intentions, business ethics, happiness, and decision-making, and (5) empirically expand the prospect theory from a one-shot game (Thaler, 2015, p. 49) at the individual level to a global level—in 32 countries across all 6 continents (Chapter 10).

Moreover, several chapters deal with the leader-member exchange (LMX) exploring the LMX’s positive impacts (moral leadership, Chapters 11 and 13) and negative impacts (supervisor bullying, Chapter 14) on creativity. Ethical leadership impacts subordinate ethical behaviors in Iraq’s emerging market (Chapter 15), and individualism moderates the relationships between justice perceptions and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among Kyrgyz citizens (Chapter 16). Furthermore, in addition, following the notion of authentic leadership (Avolio et al., 2004; Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999), ethical leadership (Brown et al., 2005), social learning theory (Bandura, 1977), servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1970), and spiritual leadership (Fry, 2003; Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2010), perceptions of ASPIRE moderate the relationships between the love of money and dishonesty (Tang & Liu, 2012; Chapter 12). Surprisingly, high perceptions of ASPIRE inspire high Love of Money subordinates to display the lowest dishonesty, whereas low perceptions of ASPIRE inspire high Love of Money subordinates to display the highest dishonesty. In many of these chapters, scholars empirically investigate the relationships between money attitudes and several outcome variables across various contexts.

Four types of measurement scales

From the measurement perspective, there are four types of measures: (1) nominal, (2) ordinal, (3) interval, and (4) ratio scales. I briefly summarize them here. The nominal scale deals with categories. We cannot engage in any calculations using categories. For the money, there are many currencies in the world, e.g., the Chinese Yuan (¥), Euro (€), the US Dollar ($), and the British Pound (£). If we code these four currencies as 1, 2, 3, and 4, the average of the first two categories ((1 + 2)/2 = 1.5) does not have any meaning.

The ordinal scale reveals the specific order of certain quantities. If Person A (Adam/Ana) is taller than B (Bill/Barbara), who, in turn, is taller than C (Chris/Cindy), then the special codes of 1, 2, and 3, representing A, B, and C, have a new meaning (e.g., 1 > 2, 2 > 3, and 1 > 3). The difference in height between 1 and 2 may or may not be the same as that between 2 and 3. Hence, the exact difference between the two is unknown due to the lack of equal intervals.

The interval data represent a psychological scale developed by researchers, showing equal intervals using a 5-point Likert-type scale, for example. The distance between 1 and 2 is the same as that between 2 and 3. It exists in your logical thinking and imagination. However, there is no absolute zero (0). This book is about your attitudes toward money, i.e., your love of money, or ardent monetary aspirations. For example, when a handsome boy’s (Adam) love of money score is 5 and a beautiful girl’s (Ana) love of money score is 1, we cannot claim that the boy’s love of money is 5 times higher than the girl’s.

Finally, the ratio scale has not only an equal interval but also an absolute zero (0). Our measures of age, distance, length, money, time, weight, etc., are in this category. When a girl (Cindy) has $5.00, she is five times richer than a boy (Chris) who has $1.00. This book deals with money (a ratio scale) and, more importantly, the meaning of money (an interval scale).

The Kuwaiti dinar is the strongest currency in the world (1 Kuwaiti dinar = US$3.20, or US$1 = 0.31 Kuwaiti dinar). The US Dollar is, by far, the most popular currency in international trade and global business. More than 65 countries peg their currencies to the US$. In addition, 5 US territories and 11 foreign countries use the US$ as their official currency (e.g., American Samoa, The British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, the Republic of El Salvador, Guam, Panama, Turks and Caicos, and the Republic of Zimbabwe).

Further, to fight inflation at an annual rate of 142%, Argentina’s President-Elect Javier Milei, a libertarian and economist, has a plan to get rid of Argentina’s currency completely and replace the Argentinian peso with the US$. However, a country must have US$ in its reserves to dollarize. Since Argentina does not have a lot of US$, it will face tough and risky challenges (Martin & Gura, 2023).

When money talks, everyone listens

Here is an interesting story. About two decades ago, on my way back to the United States from France, I was fascinated by a poster at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France. The currency signs made an exciting statement:

Say ¥€$ to Investment.

Yes, we all know that money talks. In this case, money talks in a brand-new and very impressive way. The ¥€$ represents three currencies (a nominal scale), Chinese ¥, Euro €, and the US $.

Are you subject to hidden messages, ¥€$? Do you notice the currency symbols, ¥€$, on the book cover? I hope that you like the spirit of the poster in Paris: "Say ¥€$ to Investment."

Measuring the attitude toward money

Since the publication of my first article on the Money Ethic Scale (Tang, 1992) and the love of money (Tang & Chiu, 2003) in particular, scholars have explored monetary wisdom—the relationships between the love of money attitudes or monetary aspirations and various outcomes in more than 50 countries worldwide. Besides my large-scale cross-country studies involving 33 nations (Tang et al., 2006, 2023; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Canova, et al., 2018a; Tang, Sutarso, Ansari, Lim, Teo, Arias-Galicia, Garber, Chiu, Charles-Pauvers, Luna-Arocas, Vlerick, Akande, Allen, Al-Zubaidi, Borg, Cheng, et al., 2018b), I include several highly selected studies here: e.g., the State Street Center for Applied Research’s 20-country study (including India, China, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, etc.) (Bloomberg, 2016), the Czech Republic (Lemrová et al., 2014), Egypt, Poland (Tang et al., 2008), Italy (Manippa et al., 2021), Pakistan (Chaudary et al., 2022), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan (Tynalie & Erdener, 2019), Sri Lanka (Wickramasinghe, 2022), Swaziland (Gbadamosi & Joubert, 2005), Uganda (Nkundabanyanga et al., 2011), the United Kingdom (Wang & Krumhuber, 2017), Viet Nam (Le & Kieu, 2019), and Zimbabwe (Mutipi, 2020). These empirical studies offer robust support for Monetary Wisdom.

In a recent review article, Sesini and Lozza (2023) examined a total of 226 articles on attitudes toward money. Among the 10 most often used money measures, scholars have used my scales in 32% of the research studies (i.e., Tang & Chiu, 2003—19%; Tang, 1992—11%; and Chen et al., 2014—2%), making my scales the most popular money attitude scales in literature. Yamauchi and Templer’s (1982) scale accounts for 23% of the studies. Furnham’s (1984) measure accounts for 11%. This book focuses on my scale of money attitude.

Incorporate contextualization

In an article published in Harvard Business Review, Professor Dan Ariely summarizes his research as follows: Getting people to contemplate their standards of honesty, by recalling the Ten Commandments or signing an honor code, eliminates cheating completely. Paying people in poker chips to exchange for cash a few seconds later doubles cheating. When cheating is one step removed from cash, people justify and rationalize their dishonesty easily (Ariely, 2008). Simply asking students to recall and write down the number of The Ten Commandments that they remembered reduces their subsequent reported unethical intentions. Please see Chapters 6 and 19 of this book.

Here is an interesting field study. Participants have dropped their money in the honesty box to pay for their coffee and tea in the office for years. In the experiment, researchers placed a banner poster right above the price list, showing one new image each week for 10 weeks—a pair of eyes first then flowers. Surprisingly, people pay 2.76 times more money to the honesty box for coffee and tea when they see a pair of eyes watching them than when they see beautiful flowers (Bateson et al., 2006). When people see a man’s two eyes, participants demonstrate the strongest impact on dropping money into the honesty box. Evidently, a purely symbolic reminder of being watched prodded people into improved behavior, according to Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman (2011, p. 58). A sense of anonymity (dimming lights/wearing sunglasses) incites people to cheat.

In laboratory experiments, researchers randomly assigned 10 people each to (1) either 24 private cubicles or (2) open classrooms (one round table with 10 chairs). People in private cubicles (without eyes watching them) cheated significantly more than those in open classrooms (see Chapters 4 and 5 of this book). Furthermore, the patterns of dishonesty vary across different levels of Transparency International’s CPI (see Chapters 9 and 10).

On the back of the US one-dollar bill and the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, the Eye of Providence, enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by a ray of light or a halo, is a symbol that the eye watches over mankind. Readers may also notice the official motto of the United States approved by an Act of Congress in 1956, appearing on the Great Seal of the United States and the reverse of the one-dollar bill. These symbols reflect the focus of the most famous painting—in Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, the right eye is watching you (Tang, 2021a). The context impacts people’s financial decision-making, curbs cheating, corruption, and dishonesty, and serves a very significant purpose (Kahneman, 2011, p. 58).

In a recent study, Chen et al. (2024b) treat religiosity and the love of money as two yoked antecedents of a latent construct—compete moral issues, frame it in good barrels (performance or humane contexts), and explore participants’ decision-making: dishonesty or honesty. Using a three-wave panel design, the direct paths illustrate that religiosity consistently curbs dishonesty; surprisingly, the love of money has no impact on dishonesty. Moreover, across genders, in the love of money context, males passively curb dishonesty by omission, and females actively engage in honesty by commission. These constructs, religious and monetary values, apply to all religions globally. This research demonstrates that decision-makers must challenge people’s moral issues, frame them in good barrels, and help people become good apples, choice architects, and moral and ethical decision-makers.

Becoming choice architects and ethical and moral decision-makers

Scholars and ordinary citizens worldwide must become choice architects and actively engage in designing and selecting the proper environmental context that will enhance ethical behaviors and proper conduct and curb dishonesty and misbehavior. As ethical and moral decision-makers, it is much better to prevent people from falling into temptation or getting onto a slippery slope in the first place. After falling into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, most people tend to overestimate their self-control abilities in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, it is already too late to get out of challenging situations and act ethically and behave honestly, and properly. Since self-control resembles a muscle, it is essential to understand that the depletion of limited self-regulation resources causes people to fall into temptation and engage in poor decision-making.

As choice architects and ethical decision-makers, we must carefully select the proper context, keep all environmental factors under control, and avoid all temptations. Most importantly, to make healthy, happy, and wealthy decisions, we simply stay in good barrels and away from bad barrels completely to avoid facing difficult and challenging situations (Ariely & Loewenstein, 2006; Baumeister, 2002; Baumeister et al., 1994, 1998; Chen et al., 2014; Gentina et al., 2017, 2018; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000; Sutarso et al., 2018; Tang & Sutarso, 2013).

Developing an inspirational, memorable, and practical theory

Herbert Simon was the first psychologist who won the 1978 Nobel Prize. He stated that intuition is nothing more and nothing less than recognition (Simon, 1992). One’s experience will make intuition more accurate. To increase our intuition, we must increase our knowledge.

Following the absorptive capacity theory of knowledge acquisition, researchers with more accumulated prior knowledge and strong problem-solving skills are more likely to recognize and acquire new external knowledge, put new knowledge in memory, exploit new relevant information, recall the information, utilize it in new settings, and become more creative than those without (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990). University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Adam Grant published his 2016 book, entitled Originals, the #1 New York Times bestseller (Grant, 2016). When it comes to idea generation, quantity is the most predictable path to quality (p. 37). It is important for originals to generate a larger pool of ideas—especially novel ideas and think outside the box.

Gu et al. (2015) summarize the following excellent points. Eminent scientists develop a great sense of taste and judgment in seizing significant and important problems, focus on not just problem-solving but ‘problem-finding,’ set their sights high, display a degree of venturesome fortitude, take risks, expand their access, maintain their conviction and prolonged commitment to the issue, and become prophets who can fulfill their own prophecy (emphases added, p. 514).

According to Einstein, creativity is combinatorial play. It’s as if the mind is throwing a bunch of balls into the cognitive space, juggling them around until they collide in interesting ways. People must have sufficient time to create the balls and then juggle the balls. If balls that don’t normally come near one another collide, then, the ultimate novelty of the solution will be greater. Albert Einstein argues that intrinsic motivation is the enjoyment of seeing and searching. We ask robust questions and follow Socrates’ advice:

Wisdom begins in wonder.

Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile stated: The labor-of-love aspect is important. The most successful scientists often are not the most talented, but the ones who are just impelled by curiosity. They’ve got to know what the answer is (Amabile, 1998, p. 80, 1996). When creativity is under the gun, it usually ends up getting killed (Amabile et al., 2002).

Professor James M. Buchanan, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, graduated from Middle Tennessee State Teachers College in 1940, now the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Buchanan stated: Economics … requires expository writing skills, logical structures of analysis, and a grounding in ultimate reality. On November 21, 1991, Middle Tennessee State University honored Dr. Buchanan. He presented a seminar at his alma mater. When I was a student here, I did not study hard enough. If Jim Buchanan can get a Nobel Prize, anyone can. After his first 1-h presentation, there was a 10-min break for coffee and donuts. Following What’s Important Now (Holtz, 2006), I compared the options (coffee/donuts vs the Nobel Laureate), approached him directly, and asked: What is the secret to your success? He was very generous and immediately wrote the following on the brochure of his presentation:

Hard work, a sense of self-confidence, a willingness to challenge all authorities, scientific or otherwise.

Since then, I challenged my students: If you start to work hard as a student today, you may be able to win the Nobel Prize a lot sooner than Dr. James M. Buchanan. It took him 40 years to win the Nobel Prize after he graduated from his alma mater. Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgi, the 1937 Nobel Laureate who discovered vitamin C and its components, stated:

Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what no one has thought.

Dr. James M. Buchanan and Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgi share something in common—challenging all authorities and thinking what no one has thought.

Time is money

We all have 24 h a day and 7 days a week. Time is money (DeVoe & House, 2012; DeVoe & Pfefer, 2007). Consumers process money analytically and time affectively (Lee et al., 2015). Happiness is relative when it is about money but absolute about acquisition or consumption (Hsee et al., 2009). "Time is the scarcest resource and more precious than money. You can borrow money from a bank, relatives, or a friend, but cannot barter with Time. You have 24 h a day and 7 days a week. Time is money and is the ultimate equal opportunity" (Tang, 2021b, p. 167).

Please note that 168 is a lucky number. In Chinese, it means prosperity in your life. Why does it matter? You work 16 h a day and rest for 8 h. When you add 16 and 8 together, you have 24 h a day. If you multiply 24 by 7, you have a total of 168 h a week. If you manage your time wisely and focus on what is important in your life, you can make robust contributions to the world.

In their study published in Science, Harvard professors Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) suggest that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. In a book, entitled The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, Harvard professors Waldinger and Schulz (2023) offer the following advice: We must prioritize things that bring us joy (p. 79). Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period (p. 10). Further, when we concentrate on one thing, we are at our most thoughtful, creative, and productive (p. 123). These secrets will change your life.

Neural ballet

Data and scientific discoveries can intellectually persuade readers but do not create emotion and inspire them to act. Most people consider art in the domain of the heart. Effective stories induce transportation into the narrative. Transportation occurs when one loses oneself in the flow of the story. In his article, Why your brain loves good storytelling, Paul J. Zak (2014) reveals an amazing neural ballet. When we watch a James Bond movie, for example, our brain responds to the story like we are physically a part of the story, which changes the activities of our brains. The amazing storyline changes the activity of the human brain—causing neural ballet. Hence, storytelling produces the trust-inducing power of oxytocin (OT). Oxytocin increases trust in humans (Kosfeld et al., 2005) and motivates reciprocation. The narratives of an interesting story capture your heart, hold your sustained attention, fire your imagination, and stir your soul, causing you to become a part of the story and sympathetic to others. Blood samples collected before and after the storytelling reveal the level of oxytocin synthesis. Furthermore, oxytocin release increases with age, and oxytocin moderates the relationship between age and donations to charity (Zak et al., 2022). It is the emotion that causes us to engage in reciprocity and neural ballet. Thus, the combination of our scientific mind and artistic brain is essential to success.

Monetary Wisdom explores how decision-makers select their deep-rooted personal values, apply their rigorous and creative scientific mind, view it through their artistic lens, incorporate contextualization, frame challenging moral issues—good cases in their immediate and distal contexts—good barrels, and help people become good apples, choice architects, and moral and ethical decision-makers to maximize expected utility (make and save money) and ultimate serenity (be happy). Crafting an interesting story using visualization, capturing readers’ hearts, and transporting readers into our world will turn knowledge into influential, inspirational, and memorable wisdom, helping you achieve your goals, fulfill your dreams, and find meaningful lives. There is nothing more practical than a good theory. Enjoy reading Monetary Wisdom and start your Neural Ballet together!

A change starts within each one of us. We must set our Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART) goals, write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, sharpen our character, integrity, and values, crystalize and bring our family members together, expand from our family to yours at the national level, and create peace for the whole world. No matter whether we are in a small pond or a large pond, we must continue to jump as high as we can in our pond. Be thankful for what we have and store up our treasures in heaven—people’s hearts, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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