Excluded But Empowered: How Social Exclusion Drives Responsible Investment Preference

Abstract

Social exclusion is a common experience that can have impacts on our daily life, such as choosing a product, joining a group or even our risk tolerance and financial decision-making. This study investigates the relationship between social exclusion and responsible investment, as well as the role of altruistic desire and self-esteem in this relationship. Using a sample of 375 participants recruited from Prolific, participants were randomly assigned to either a socially excluded or control condition and presented with either a conventional or responsible investment advertisement. The research aims to demonstrate that offering responsible investment as a means of alleviating negative feelings arising from social exclusion can be an effective coping mechanism compared to conventional investment. Results show that socially excluded people are more open to responsible investment than conventional investment and this difference has disappeared for those who did not experience social exclusion. The result did not find any evidence to support the role of altruistic desire and self-esteem in this relationship.