Thinking About Money: Cross-national Comparison of Social Representations of “Money” in Italy and the United States

The significance of studying the psychological meanings of money has been widely acknowledged in the literature. However, some gaps still need to be filled: cross-cultural studies are limited, and prior research has mainly focused on the notion of money attitudes, leaving the concept of social representation in the background. The present research employed a two-study design to explore the unique social representations of money in Italy and the U.S. Using the free association technique, the shared image of money has been reconstructed, revealing notable differences in the perspective of individuals coming from Italy and the U.S. Italians build their conception of money around the notion of work and well-being, defending an abstract and strongly symbolic vision. The social representation of U.S. individuals reflects a pragmatic approach to money, recognizing its centrality in determining one’s happiness. The research contributes to the psychological literature on money from a methodological and a theoretical perspective: the mixed use of qualitative and quantitative data allows to better understand the subjectivity around money, and the concept of social representation enriches the extant knowledge on the subjectivity of money. Last, the findings offer practical insights in terms of financial education programs and interventions.