The Journal of Behavioral Science

Financial Literacy and Financial Planning for Retirement: The Mediating Roles of Bias and Attitudes among Laborers in Thailand

Prempa Duangtong — 2026-05-30

Background/ problem: Many countries are becoming aging societies, making retirement planning a critical priority. However, limited financial literacy and financial bias hinder laborers' retirement planning, particularly in Thailand's Songkhla Province, which is characterized as a semi-urban, multicultural community and a major commercial center in southern Thailand.

Objective/ purpose: This study examines the relationship between financial literacy and retirement financial planning, with financial biases and attitudes as mediating variables.

Design and Methodology: Data were collected using a questionnaire administered through fieldwork from 400 formal and informal laborers from Songkhla Province in Thailand. The study used proportionate stratified sampling to collect data, which were then analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results: Financial literacy did not significantly influence retirement financial planning (β = .17, p = .08), financial biases (β = −.66, p = .00), and financial attitudes (β = .45, p = .00). Financial biases negatively predicted retirement planning (β = −.42, p = .00) and mediated the effect of financial literacy (β = .28, p = .00), while financial attitudes positively affected retirement planning (β = .31, p = .00) and also served as a mediator (β = .14, p = .02).

Conclusion and Implications: This study integrates behavioral science and behavioral finance to show how financial literacy shapes attitudes and biases in retirement decisions. The findings highlight its role in improving retirement planning and reducing biases. However, financial literacy alone may be insufficient; thus, policies should promote positive financial attitudes and reduce behavioural biases to enhance effective retirement planning.

Lost in Bangkok: The Phenomenology of Urban Loneliness Among Young Adult Men in the City

Paskorn Yurawan — 2026-05-30

Background/problem: Loneliness is a growing public health concern, influencing mental health, social well-being, and overall quality of life. In Thailand, government agencies increasingly focus on urban populations.

Objective/purpose: This qualitative, existential-phenomenological study (investigating lived experience) explored how young adult men in Bangkok experience loneliness, highlighting personal, cultural, and environmental influences.

Design and Methodology: Nineteen men (aged 22–30 years) with severe loneliness, as indicated by the Thai De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale, participated in the in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using a whole-part-whole method, member checking, and reflexivity, interpreted through embodied cognition, a theory that cognitive processes are grounded in bodily interactions with the environment.

Findings: Results indicate that loneliness emerges as an emotional and bodily disconnection from self, others, or the environment, shaped by physical sensations, emotional suppression and circumstances of urban living. Six themes were identified: (1) loneliness as an ongoing embodied interaction with the world; (2) urban landscapes amplifying loneliness; (3) loneliness arising from unmet personal and social expectations; (4) disconnection from meaningful shared experiences; (5) feeling of diminished self-worth and identity; and (6) loneliness as a necessary tool for living.

Conclusion and Implications: These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of loneliness, which can be both debilitating and transformative. Interventions must address embodied and socio-environmental dimensions, particularly considering gender-specific masculine norms. Interventions may include urban design that fosters communal engagement, culturally attuned counseling to promote emotional expressiveness and social connection, and mindfulness-based practices to cultivate resilience and well-being.

3-2026-2 School Connectedness and Mental Health in Vietnamese Secondary School Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Social-Emotional Competence

Thi Huyen Tran — 2026-05-30

Background: School connectedness is a critical factor influencing adolescent mental health. However, the mechanisms through which its multidimensional components, such as teacher support, peer support, social participation, and perceived safety, influence well-being in Vietnam remain underexplored.

Objective: This study examined the mechanism through which multidimensional school connectedness influences the mental health of Vietnamese adolescents.

Method: Drawing on a cross-sectional sample of 395 lower secondary students (M_age = 12.3, SD = 1.05) from public secondary schools in Vietnam, the study first validated the component structure of the school connectedness scale using principal component analysis (PCA) with Promax rotation. Mediation analyses were then conducted using the PROCESS macro to examine the role of social-emotional competence.

Results: The analysis identified a clear four-component structure of the scale, accounting for a substantial proportion of the variance (55.46%) and indicating good construct validity (KMO = .90; Bartlett’s test, p < .001). Mediation analyses revealed that social-emotional competence significantly mediated the relationship between school connectedness and mental health. Specifically, the indirect effects were robust (ab = -.16 to -.21, 95% CI [-.33, -.07]), whereas several direct effects became non-significant after the mediator was included.

Conclusion and Implications: School connectedness may support adolescent mental health partly through the development of social-emotional competence. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening supportive school environments and implementing school-based social-emotional learning interventions to promote student mental health.

School Learning Ecosystems Influencing Teachers’ Work Happiness: A Structural Equation Modeling Study in Thailand

Marut Saksaengwijit — 2026-05-30

Background: Teachers’ work happiness is important for effective teaching and student learning. In Thailand, teachers have faced increasing professional demands due to ongoing educational reform and the integration of digital technologies in schools. However, research remains fragmented, and few studies in Thailand have examined whether these influences vary by school size.

Objective: This study aimed to (1) develop and test a causal model of the school learning ecosystem influencing teachers’ work happiness; and (2) examine differences by school size using multi-group SEM.

Design and Methodology: Data were collected from 913 teachers and school administrators in Thailand using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire through multistage stratified random sampling. Analyses in Mplus included CFA, SEM, and multi-group SEM.

Results: The measurement model showed excellent fit [(χ² (199) = 517.39, CFI = .97, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .04, SRMR = .04)]. The SEM results indicated that learning and collaborative culture and stability and professional development significantly influenced teachers’ work happiness. The multi-group model also showed acceptable fit (χ² (898) = 1495.87, CFI = .95, TLI = .94, RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .08). Stability and professional development had a significant effect across all school sizes, while the effect of learning and collaborative culture varied by school size.

Conclusion and Implications: The school learning ecosystem provides an integrated explanation of teachers’ work happiness. Strengthening teachers’ stability, professional growth, and collaborative learning culture may help sustain teachers’ work happiness, enhance teacher well-being, and inform school development and teacher support policies in Thailand.

Cultural Determinism, Leadership Identity, and Psychological Outcomes Among Emirati Women School Principals: A Convergent Mixed Methods Study

Saeed Mobarak Alkaabi — 2026-05-30

Background/ problem: Despite state-led empowerment reforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirati women school principals experience tension between leadership roles and entrenched cultural expectations. Norms related to family honor, modesty, male guardianship, and relational harmony, continue to shape leadership identity formation, agency, and psychological outcomes, influencing leadership legitimacy and professional identity.

Objective/ purpose: This study examines how cultural determinism influences leadership identity, agency, and psychological well-being among Emirati women school leaders on the East Coast of the UAE.

Design and Methodology: A convergent parallel mixed methods design was implemented. Correlation and regression analysis were used to test the influence of cultural determinism on psychological outcomes from the data gathered through survey of 253 principal and vice-principals. At the stage of interpretation, the results were integrated with phenomenological thematic analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews.

Results: The quantitative results indicated a strong and significant association between cultural determinism and psychological outcomes, F(1, 251) = 496.35, p < .001, explaining 66% of the variance (R² = .66). Cultural influence was a significant predictor for affective strain, emotional regulation demands, and internalized expectations of leadership presence, although not significantly associated with any structural variables. The qualitative results revealed six interconnected themes describing how leaders negotiate cultural norms through moral legitimacy, relational leadership, and strategic restraint.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings show a significant relationship between cultural determinism and psychological outcomes, which occur via emotional regulation, relational legitimacy, and negotiated agency. The study implies that developing leaders in a collectivist society requires culturally-informed methods that incorporate psychological aspects of leadership.

Factors Influencing Creative and Innovative Behavior of Personnel in the Silverware Handicraft Industry of Thailand: A Mixed Methods Study

Penporn Pukahuta — 2026-05-30

Background/ problem: With the silverware handicraft sector is an important part of Thailand's cultural economy, employees’ inventiveness and creativity have become increasingly important for maintaining competitiveness. Previous studies have mostly concentrated on product design, paying little attention to how organizational and human factors interact to influence such behavior.

Objective/ purpose: This study aimed to 1) explore how organizational contexts and individual experiences shape creative and innovative behavior among personnel in the silverware handicraft industry; and
2) to examine the relationships among these factors.

Design and Methodology: This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with five experienced silverware entrepreneurs, which also informed instrument development for the quantitative phase. Data were collected from 214 employees and analyzed using multiple regression analysis.

Results: Qualitative findings revealed that creative and innovative behavior was shaped by leadership roles, organizational systems and policies, organizational climate and culture, employee competencies, and the work environment. Quantitative results showed strong interrelationships among organizational variables, prompting their integration into a higher-order construct—organizational context. Both organizational context (β = .21, p < .05) and individual attributes (β = .62, p < .05) had significant positive effects, with individual attributes the stronger predictor.

Conclusion and Implications: The findings support the interactionist perspective, showing that creative and innovative behavior arises from the interplay between individual capabilities and organizational conditions. For traditional craft industries, fostering innovation requires aligning supportive organizational contexts with personnel development through continuous learning and participatory practices.

Behavioral Science Interventions to Enhance Digital Well-being among Thai Undergraduate Students

Onjaree Natakuatoong — 2026-05-31

Background/problem: Digital technology has reshaped learning and daily life, while introducing risks for higher education such as addictive behaviors and mental health concerns. While global research has advanced digital well-being, integrated behavioral science interventions for undergraduates remain limited in Thailand.

Objective/purpose: This study aimed to (1) explore perceptions and institutional contexts of digital well‑being to design and validate a behavioral science intervention framework; (2) evaluate its effectiveness in improving students’ digital well‑being; and (3) compare experimental and control group outcomes across pretest, posttest, and follow‑up.

Design and Methodology: A mixed methods design was used. Focus groups (n = 30; 15 faculty, 15 undergraduates) guided the development of a seven-step behavioral science intervention. The program was delivered to 30 undergraduates over seven weeks via in-class sessions, online modules, and structured tasks. Quantitative evaluation used repeated measures ANOVA to assess changes in five digital well-being dimensions at a four-week follow-up, supported by classroom observations and student feedback.

Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements across all five dimensions versus the control group (F(1, 58) = 9.84, p < .001), with medium to large effect sizes (η² = .18–.32). Gains in self-regulation, reflective awareness, and collaborative engagement were sustained, with mean scores rising 15–22% from baseline; the control group showed minimal or declining outcomes.

Conclusion and Implications: A theory-driven, seven-step behavioral science framework enhanced undergraduate digital well-being, offering a scalable model to foster healthier digital habits and purposeful technology use in higher education.

Error Management Climate as a Driver of Employee Innovation Behavior: The Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment

Zhangnan Luo — 2026-05-30

Background/problem: Organizations increasingly recognize that innovation depends not only on formal R&D investments but also on individual employees’ innovative behaviors. However, the organizational conditions that foster such behaviors remain incompletely understood.

Objective/purpose: This study explores the relationship between the error management climate and innovation behavior among junior employees in China’s small and medium-sized game software development enterprises by collecting data from these employees, with psychological empowerment as a mediating mechanism.

Design and Methodology: Drawing on error management theory, psychological empowerment theory, and innovation research, this study developed and tested a mediation model using survey data from 479 junior employees in China. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap mediation analysis were employed to test the hypothesized relationships.

Results: Learning from errors showed the largest indirect effect on innovation behavior through psychological empowerment (indirect effect = .08, 95% CI [.03, .14], p = .00). Thinking about errors also demonstrated a significant indirect effect (0.06, 95% CI [.03, .11], p = .00). Error competence (0.07, 95% CI [0.03, 0.13], p = .00) and error communication (0.05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.11], p = .01) both showed significant indirect effects despite their non-significant direct effects.

Conclusion and Implications: These findings highlight the psychological mechanisms through which an organizational atmosphere that tolerates errors promotes innovation, and indicate that enterprises should create a tolerance-for-errors environment to enhance the empowerment and innovative behavior of junior employees, especially those who may be more sensitive to the signals of the organizational atmosphere.