The hierarchical structure of saving motives

This research aims to analyse the super-ordinate goals motivating the decision to save and to represent the hierarchical structure of the linkages between these goals. The participants (97 British adults) provided personal reasons why they wanted to save, after which they explained why these reasons were important, and were then asked to give further justifications. Fifteen salient goals were identified and found to function hierarchically. At the bottom of the hierarchy are more concrete goals (“Purchase”, “Holidays” or “Money availability”) while at the top are more abstract goals (“Self-esteem”, “Self-gratification”). In the intermediate position are goals which channel the more concrete towards the more abstract. The hierarchical goal structure is analysed by network analysis.