Liten tuva stjälper ofta stort lass : En studie om hur varnande berättelser kan utformas för att påverka unga vuxnas attityder till konsumtionskrediter

Sammanfattning: The behaviour of taking out unsecured loans to purchase goods or services is in danger of causing over-indebtedness, especially among young adults. The lending of consumer credits is closely associated with inadequate creditworthiness assessments as well as high interest rates, which implicates that borrowers with narrow margins are granted loans that they are later unable to repay. Consumer information in the form of loan terms and pre-purchase information is not sufficient to give the consumer an understanding of the long-term effects that a consumer credit may have on the personal finance. The aim of this study is to explore how the Swedish Consumer Agency can use cautionary tales to influence young adults’ (18–29 years) attitudes towards consumer credits. The research objective is to present a design proposal for a narrative, as part of a public communication campaign with the Swedish Consumer Agency as messenger. To develop an understanding of possible reasons why young adults take out consumer credits, as well as the consequences for those who cannot repay their loans, quantitative as well as qualitative data was collected from government publications and official statistics. Based on the findings from the data collection, a narrative for a campaign video was created in the format of a screenplay. The narrative's potential impact was then evaluated with the help of prospective users of the campaign video. The results from the user testing show that the narrative activated psychological processes in the participants which are associated with attitudinal impact. Thus, the results suggest that a cautionary tale, which explains potential causes and effects of over-indebtedness that is relatable to young adults, can influence young adults' attitudes towards consumer credits.