Cryptocurrency Engagement and Learned Helplessness

Abstract

Many poor long-term financial decisions are not “choices” but symptoms of a psychological state called Learned Helplessness. This is the belief, often learned from past setbacks, that one has no control over outcomes, leading to passivity and avoidance. In finance, this manifests as a belief that “it doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll never get ahead.” This is academically defined as an External Locus of Control, the belief that one’s financial future is in the hands of luck or external forces, not personal effort. An External Locus of Control can be directly linked to saving significantly less for retirement and avoiding proactive financial planning. In this research, we attempt to predict cryptocurrency engagement, given it's attractiveness for people who feel that traditional, effort-based financial structures are futile, as a function of beliefs about people's locus of control of their finances, planning horizon, and self-efficacy.