Economic Research on Choice Overload

Economic Research on Choice Overload: Questionnaire
Stage 1
OMB No. 3170-0048
Expiration Date: 12/31/2017
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5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(3)
The information you provide through your responses to Middlebury College will assist the
study sponsor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), in understanding
certain aspects of financial decision-making.
The CFPB will not obtain or access any directly identifying information from Middlebury
College about study participants. The agency will only obtain, and access, de-identified
results and aggregated analyses of those results.

Information collected on behalf of the Bureau by Middlebury College will be treated in
accordance with the System of Records Notice (“SORN”), CFPB.022,
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/14/2012-27582/privacy-act-of-1974as-amended. This information may only be disclosed as outlined in the Routine Uses for the
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the study and will be kept private except as required by law.
This collection of information is authorized by Pub. L. No. 111-203, Title X, Sections 1013
and 1022, codified at 12 U.S.C. §§ 5493 and 5512.

Participation in this exercise is voluntary, you are not required to participate or share any
identifying information. You may withdraw participation at any time. However, if you do
not include the requested information, you may not participate in the study.

Demographic Questions
What is your age?
(free response)

Are you Hispanic or Latino?
(radio button with options)
Yes/No

How do you describe your race?
(radio button with options)
American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hawaii/Pacific
Islander, White, Mixed Race, Other

What is your gender?
(radio button with options)
Male/Female
What is your major?
(free response)

What is your academic year?
(radio button with options)
Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior

How much do you typically spend in a week on consumption for yourself?
What is your family total annual income?
(radio button with options)
1. Less than $30,000
2. $30,000 - $50,000
3. $50,000 - $100,000
4. $100,000 - $150,000
5. More than $150,000
What is your home country?

If from the United States, what region are you from?
(radio button with options)
Northeast, Midwest, South, West
If from the United States, what is your home zipcode?
How many bathrooms are in your family home?

Are you from an urban, suburban, or rural area?
(radio button with options)
Urban, Suburban, Rural

Risk questions (from SOEP)

Would you describe yourself as someone who tries to avoid risks (risk-averse) or
as someone who is willing to take risks (risk-prone)?
 Please answer on a scale from 0 to 10, where 
0 means “risk-averse” and 10
means “risk-prone”.
People can behave differently in different situations.
 How would you rate your
willingness to take risks in the following areas?
. Please answer on a scale from 0 to 10, where
 0 means risk-averse and 10
means risk-prone.

How is it ...
while driving?.............................. in financial matters? ................... during leisure
and sport?............ in your occupation? .................... with your health?
........................ your faith in other people?..........
Big 5 Questions (BFI-S, from SOEP 2009)

Below are different qualities that a person can have.
You will probably find that
some apply to you perfectly and that some do not apply to you at all. With others,
you may be somewhere in between. Please answer according to the following
scale: 
1 means "does not apply to me at all", 7 means "applies to me perfectly".

With values between 1 and 7, you can express where you lie between these two
extremes. 


I see myself as someone who:
– does a thorough job
– is communicative, talkative
– is sometimes somewhat rude to others
– is original, comes up with new ideas
– worries a lot
– has a forgiving nature
– tends to be lazy
– is outgoing, sociable
– values artistic, aesthetic experiences
– gets nervous easily
– does things effectively and efficiently
– is reserved
– is considerate and kind to others
– has an active imagination
– is relaxed, handles stress well
– is eager for knowledge
Subjective Patience Assessment
Do you consider yourself to be patient or impatient? Please answer according to the

following scale: 
1 means "very patient", 10 means "very impatient".
 With
values between 1 and 10, you can express where you lie between these two
extremes. 

(from Zauberman et al JMR, 2009):

Imagine receiving a gift certificate worth $75. Suppose that the gift certificate is
valid today. How much would you need to be paid to wait for 1 month before using
the gift certificate? (in dollars)
Imagine a day 3 months in the future. Place a mark on the following line to indicate
how long you consider the duration between today and a day 3 months later.
Very Short ---------------------------------------------------------- Very Long

Imagine a day 1 year in the future. Place a mark on the following line to indicate how
long you consider the duration between today and a day 1 year later.
Very Short ---------------------------------------------------------- Very Long
Imagine a day 3 years in the future. Place a mark on the following line to indicate
how long you consider the duration between today and a day 3 years later.
Very Short ---------------------------------------------------------- Very Long
Cognitive Ability Questions (cognitive reflection)
Answer the following quickly:

A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How
much $ does the ball cost?
It takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets. How long will it take 100
machines to make 100 widgets?

In a lake there is a patch of lily pads. The patch doubles in size every day. If it takes
48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to
cover half the lake?
Credit Use History
Do you have or have you ever had a credit card that you are personally responsible
for paying off? (If Yes, please do not include debit cards, and, only include cards you
can pay off over time).
Yes/No
If yes, how many?
What is the current annual rate of interest you have on a credit card? (If more than
one card, indicate the highest annual interest rate)
What is the most important reason you chose the credit card you did?
I didn’t choose it, a family member chose it for me.
It was the first option I came across
Because I found it offered the most favorable terms when compared to other
options
I followed the recommendation of a friend or family member or trusted
financial adviser
Other Reason _______
Do you have or have you ever had a loan for educational expenses? (If Yes, Please do
not include any credit cards already recorded)
How many such loans are there?
What is the total principal for all such education-related loans you hold?
What is the current annual rate of interest on your education loan with the highest
interest rate?

Have you ever used a general purpose, reloadable card (also known as a prepaid
card)?
Do you have a checking account of your own? Do not include business accounts,
loan accounts or credit cards with check-writing privilege, or accounts held for
other people.
What is the most important reason you chose the institution you did for your main
checking account?
I didn’t choose it, a family member chose it for me.
It was the first option I came across
Location of their offices
Because I found it offered the most favorable terms when compared to other
options
I followed the recommendation of a friend or family member or trusted
financial adviser
Other Reason ______

Financial Literacy

1. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and
inflation
was 2% per year. After 1 year, would you be able to buy more than, exactly the same
as, or less than today with the money in this account?
Answer Options:
1. More than today
2. Exactly the same as today
3. Less than today
2. If the interest rates rise, what should happen to bond prices?
Answer Options:
1. They should rise
2. They should fall
3. They should stay the same

3. Considering a long time period (for example 10 or 20 years), which asset
described below normally gives the highest return?
Answer Options:
1. Savings accounts
2. Bonds
3. Stocks

4. Normally, which asset described below displays the highest fluctuations over
time?
Answer Options:

1. Savings accounts
2. Bonds
3. Stocks

5. When an investor spreads his or her money among different assets, does the risk
of losing a lot of money increase, decrease or stay the same?

Answer Options:
1. Increase
2. Decrease
3. Stay the same

6. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "If you were to invest $1000
in a stock mutual fund, it would be possible to have less than $1000 when you
withdraw your money."
Answer options:
True
False

7. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "'Whole life' insurance has a
savings feature while 'term' insurance does not."
Answer Options:
True
False

8. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "A 15-year mortgage
typically requires higher monthly payments than a 30-year mortgage, but the total
interest paid over the life of the loan will be less."
Answer Options:
True
False

9. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "Housing prices in the US
can never go down."
Answer Options:
True
False

10. Suppose you owe $3,000 on your credit card. You pay a minimum payment of
$30 each month. At an Annual Percentage Rate of 12% (or 1% per month), how
many years would it take to eliminate your credit card debt if you made no
additional new charges?

Answer Options:

Less than 5 years
Between 5 and 10 years
3. Between 10 and 15 years
4. Never, you will continue to be in debt

Attitudes Toward Various Credit Products
Generally speaking do you have trust in financial institutions (e.g. credit card
companies, mortgage lenders)? Please answer on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1
indicates “very little trust” and 10 indicates “a great deal of trust”).
In general, do you think it is a good idea or a bad idea for people to buy things by
borrowing or on credit?
1. *Good idea
2. *Good in some ways, bad in others
3. *Bad idea
People have many different reasons for borrowing money which they pay back
over a period of time. For each of the reasons below, please indicate whether you
feel it is all right for someone like yourself to borrow money...
To cover the expenses of a vacation trip?
Yes
No
To cover living expenses when income is cut?
Yes
No
To finance the purchase of a car?
Yes
No
To finance educational expenses?
Yes
No
Payment Over Time Decisions
See attached PDF.

Lottery Decisions
See attached PDF.
Paperwork Reduction Act
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct
or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this
collection is 3170-0048. It expires on 12/31/2017. The time required to complete
this information collection is estimated to average approximately 1 hour per
response. Responding to this collection of information is voluntary. Comments
regarding this collection of information, including the estimated response time,
suggestions for improving the usefulness of the information, or suggestions for
reducing the burden to respond to this collection should be submitted to Bureau at
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA Office), 1700 G
Street NW, Washington, DC 20552, or by email to [email protected].

Stage 2
OMB No. 3170-0048
Expiration Date: 12/31/2017
Payment Method