CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Marlborough School/University of Southern California
Study Title: The Trade-Off Between Convenience and Capital
Purpose of the Study:
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between financial literacy, risk tolerance, and hyperbolic discounting levels among adults above 18 who use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. This research aims to determine whether higher levels of financial literacy are associated with greater or lower risk tolerance in financial decision-making, providing insight into how financial knowledge influences spending and borrowing behaviors among young consumers. Participants must reside in the United States, have used a BNPL service (such as Afterpay, Klarna, Zip, or Affirm) within the past 12 months, and provide informed consent to participate. Individuals outside the age range, those who have never used BNPL services, or submit incomplete responses will be excluded from the study.
Procedures:
Participation in this study will take approximately 30 minutes and will be conducted online through a secure survey platform. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey that explores your financial literacy, risk tolerance, and experiences with Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services using multiple choice and scale questions.
Risk and Benefits
Potential Risks
We anticipate that your participation in this survey presents no greater risk than everyday use of the internet. However, some participants may experience minor discomfort when reflecting on their financial behaviors, literacy, or risk tolerance. There is also a minimal risk of loss of confidentiality, though all responses will remain anonymous and data will be stored securely. Every effort will be made to minimize risks and you may withdraw at any time without penalty.
Potential Benefits
Participating in this study may result in a greater personal understanding of your own financial literacy and risk tolerance. While there are no direct benefits to participants, the information collected may benefit others in the future by contributing to research on how adults make financial decisions when using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. Your alternative to participating in this study is to not participate.
Incentives for Participation
By participating in this study, you can voluntarily opt in to a raffle for a 5 $20 Amazon digital gift cards. In order to enter in the raffle, you will need to provide an email address in order for us to send compensation to.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
Data collected from this study are completely anonymous, meaning no personally identifiable information will be collected, and the information you choose to share cannot be connected back to you. Results and presentations from this study may be shared with the community or published, but no names or identifying details will be included. Only authorized research personnel will have access to the study data and records, which will be stored securely in a password-protected online folder accessible only to the research team. The data will be kept indefinitely for potential future research and analysis. Please note that email communication is not completely secure and could potentially be read by a third party. Your data, including de-identified data, may be kept for use in future research.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions or concerns about the study or your rights as a participant, please contact Ari Tuluenga, M.A., Honors Research in Social Science, Marlborough School, at ari.tuluenga@marlborough.org and/or Tom Y. Chang, B.S. i