An exploratory analysis of how perceived financial scarcity impacts learning and cognition

Abstract Perceived financial scarcity, marked by feelings of “not having enough money,” redirects attentional resources toward urgent financial concerns. Since attention is a fundamental component of learning, this redirection may adversely affect educational outcomes. While previous research has examined the relationship between financial stress and academic achievement, as well as its impact on motivation, there has been limited direct investigation into how perceived financial scarcity influences actual learning performance. To address this gap, we assessed whether perceived financial scarcity might influence learning outcomes in college students. Specifically, we examined perceived financial scarcity’s impact on recall of directly provided facts and inferential learning through the mediating influences of fatigue and attention in a path analysis model. Participants completed an online anonymous survey using self-reported measures for perceived scarcity, fatigue, and attention. They also completed a validated paradigm for self-derivation through which we derived their scores for inferential learning and recall of directly provided facts. Supporting our hypothesis, perceived financial scarcity was associated with higher levels of cognitive fatigue (β = 0.23, p <.001); cognitive fatigue was associated with diminished attentional control (β = −0.53, p <.001); attentional control was associated with inferential learning (β = 0.21, p <.01) but not with rote learning (β = 0.09, p =.19). This study provides preliminary evidence that financial constraints might burden students’ cognitive bandwidth through fatigue, challenging the mechanism through which students learn and create knowledge.