RESEARCH_FILE
Brad Klontz
Creighton University Heider College of Business
Known for:Pioneer of financial psychology research, particularly the 'money script' framework — identifying the unconscious beliefs about money formed in childhood that predict financial avoidance, compulsive spending, and shame-driven financial behaviors in adulthood
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“My finances prove I’m behind as a person”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“This is a snapshot of decisions, not a scan of character.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open a single financial screen you usually avoid, write down one number you can see now, and label it with a neutral category such as rent, card balance, or savings. Close it again without changing anything.
Key findings
- 2012
With Sonya Britt, Klontz validated a taxonomy of money scripts — money avoidance, money worship, money status, and money vigilance — showing that money avoidance scripts (including beliefs that money corrupts, that one doesn't deserve wealth, or that rich people are bad) significantly predicted lower income, lower net worth, and greater financial avoidance behaviors, independent of education or demographic factors. Money Beliefs and Financial Behaviors: Development of the Klontz Money Script Inventory ↗