Cultural dispositions and economic choice: How field-specific logics shape ‘rational’ economic behaviour

Acta Sociologica · 2026-02-12

Why do some individuals make economic choices aligning with rational choice principles while others regularly deviate from such norms? This paper addresses this question by applying Bourdieu's field theory to economic cognition, arguing that economic and cultural fields cultivate opposing dispositions through fundamentally inverse logics of accumulation. Drawing on three original studies with U.S. adults, I demonstrate that capital composition and field socialization systematically pattern economic decision-making in ways behavioural economics cannot explain through psychological mechanisms alone. Study 1 reveals a negative correlation between performance on probability-based tasks (blackjack) and aesthetic evaluation, suggesting competing rather than parallel cognitive competencies. Study 2 shows that economic capital predicts lower loss aversion while cultural capital predicts heightened loss sensitivity, controlling for risk tolerance and demographics. Study 3 demonstrates that occupational and educational field socialization predicts loss aversion above and beyond capital stocks, providing direct evidence for the habitus mechanism. These findings make three contributions. First, they provide quantitative, micro-cognitive evidence for Bourdieu's chiastic structure, demonstrating that opposing field logics generate measurable cognitive interference. Second, they advance culture and cognition scholarship by introducing relational opposition as an explanatory principle: dispositions optimized for one field create systematic disadvantages in another, not merely parallel differences. Third, they suggest implications for dual-process theory, indicating that automatic and controlled processes may be relationally structured by field position rather than simply varying in content. The results challenge behavioural economics' universal bias framework and illuminate how social structure penetrates economic cognition, with practical implications for financial literacy interventions in an increasingly financialized economy.

“Conversing” With Qualitative Data: Enhancing Qualitative Research Through Large Language Models (LLMs)

International Journal of Qualitative Methods · 2025-02-20 · 58 citations

Large Language Models (LLMs) are revolutionizing how qualitative researchers can work with textual data. Rather than relying only on codebooks or manual line-by-line analysis, scholars can “converse” with their materials by asking targeted questions, probing for contextual insights, and refining theoretical connections. This dialogue-like process speeds up traditional tasks—transcription, coding, theme identification—while sparking broader possibilities for exploration. Researchers prompt the LLM to surface recurring patterns, detect subtle shifts in tone, or suggest new interpretive angles. These capabilities neither diminish the centrality of human expertise nor replace the analytical depth that defines qualitative research. Instead, they expand the researcher’s toolkit, allowing more time for theoretical reflection and rich meaning-making. The LLM becomes an active partner: it quickly identifies connections that might take days or weeks of manual work, yet the scholar remains responsible for selecting which prompts to use, verifying the outputs, and situating them within appropriate conceptual frameworks. Ethical considerations—such as data security and bias—demand careful oversight and transparent reporting, emphasizing the importance of maintaining scholarly integrity. Taken together, LLM-facilitated analysis offer a promising avenue to enhance qualitative research, leveraging both computational efficiency and the nuanced, reflexive insights at the heart of interpretive inquiry.

The upside of uncertainty: how counterfeit risk in secondary markets influences primary luxury sales

Journal of Business Research · 2025-09-09 · 2 citations

The rise of digital resale platforms has reshaped the global luxury goods market, creating opportunities for pre-owned luxury transactions while introducing significant authenticity challenges. We argue that increased uncertainty about product authenticity in the secondhand market can benefit primary market sales. Drawing on concepts from information asymmetry and cross-market spillovers, we propose a novel inverted U-shaped relationship between counterfeit-related uncertainty and primary market demand. Two experimental studies tested this hypothesis by measuring participants’ intention to purchase from the primary market, the secondary market, or opting out altogether. The findings reveal that moderate authenticity uncertainty in the secondhand market drives consumers toward the primary market, where authenticity is guaranteed. However, as perceived uncertainty reaches extreme levels, consumers either exit the market or revert to secondhand purchases despite known risks. This cross-market mechanism, where secondary market uncertainty influences primary market sales, challenges traditional views that counterfeits only damage brands through direct competition. This study contributes to theory by (1) extending Akerlof’s information asymmetry framework to cross-market contexts, (2) identifying conceptual boundary conditions where uncertainty creates value rather than destroys it, and (3) challenging the prevailing assumption that counterfeits are categorically harmful to luxury brands. These insights further suggest that luxury brands might benefit from balancing their anti-counterfeiting efforts: reducing uncertainty enough to prevent trust erosion while maintaining some ambiguity to redirect demand toward primary channels.

Rethinking economic socialization: the intersection of culture, gender and economic life in a religious enclave

Socio-Economic Review · 2024-09-23 · 5 citations

Abstract This article explores how economic socialization serves as a bridge between individual economic behaviors and the broader social and cultural contexts that shape them. Drawing on a post-functionalist approach to socialization, the study examines the ultra-Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community in Israel, where distinct gender roles, cultural norms and patterns of economic participation create a unique context for investigating divergent economic socialization pathways. Comparing four groups within the Haredi community—average/below-average and high-income women, men with work experience, and men who study at religious seminaries (Yeshiva/Kollel)—analysis of an original survey study reveals how differential exposure to economic life leads to significant variations in financial risk-taking, loss-aversion, financial literacy and competitiveness. The findings problematize explanations attributing economic gender gaps to innate differences, instead highlighting the profound impact of the cultural framing of gender roles vis-à-vis economic integration. By foregrounding economic socialization as a sociological phenomenon, the study contributes to discourses on culture’s role in economic behavior and opens new avenues for examining how individuals acquire economic dispositions through socialization pathways shaped by structural constraints and power relations.

The Gendered Language of Financial Advice: Finfluencers, Framing, and Subconscious Preferences

Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · 2024-01-01 · 17 citations

As financial advice migrates online, “finfluencers” are democratizing access to financial knowledge, challenging the historically male-dominated advisory landscape. This mixed-methods study explores how gender shapes the creation and consumption of finfluencer content. Qualitative analysis reveals gendered advice patterns: Men emphasize quantitative aspects, whereas women incorporate narratives and personal stories. Experimental surveys uncover subconscious same-gender preferences in advice receptivity, contrasting with stated desires for gender-neutral guidance. These implicit affinities persist even when advice content is anonymized and gender-balanced. Paradoxically, finfluencers introduce diverse voices and challenge traditional norms yet also subtly cater to gendered perspectives. The research highlights the complex role of gender in the digital financial advice market, where expanding inclusivity coexists with enduring biases. Findings offer insights for developing more equitable and empowering financial education in the digital age while revealing the subconscious factors shaping the emerging finfluencer discourse.

Neither gift nor loan: the strategic use of pseudo-formality at the nexus of intimacy and economy

Social Forces · 2024-11-13

Abstract In this paper, I introduce the concept of pseudo-formality as a novel form of relational work in economic sociology. Pseudo-formality refers to the performative use of formal aesthetics, such as contracts and repayment plans, in financial exchanges between close ties—as both parties tacitly understand that the agreement is flexible and not legally binding. I argue that pseudo-formality works by leveraging the signaling function of formal market elements in a way that contradicts their typical purpose, allowing for the compartmentalization of the economic and social aspects of the exchange. Through two complementary vignette experiments, I demonstrate that pseudo-formal framing enhances the perceived dignity of the recipient and the respect conveyed by the giver, compared to formal, informal, or gift-based arrangements. This effect partially mediates the relationship between the type of exchange and its overall acceptability. This research contributes to relational work perspectives in economic sociology by identifying a prevalent but understudied strategy for navigating the intersection of intimacy and economy, and highlights the adaptability of economic forms for relational purposes. The findings have practical implications for interpersonal exchanges as well as the design of financial assistance programs and policies, suggesting that pseudo-formal structures can provide a dignified and empowering means of support.

Time, ties, transactions: temporality and relational work in economic exchange

Theory and Society · 2024-04-26 · 6 citations

Abstract This paper explores the intersection of time and relational economic sociology. Building on Viviana Zelizer’s relational framework, I argue that analyzing the temporal dimensions of exchange provides insight into how social ties gain meaning through economic practices. The paper shows time’s dual role as both an organizing structure bounding action, and a dynamic element that actors leverage to shape transactional contexts. As structure, time offers culturally-available templates like schedules and rhythms that facilitate coordination and signify predictable social meanings befitting particular relational categories. Yet time also constitutes relational work itself; strategic timing, duration, pacing, and sequencing of interactions signal context, manage expectations, and sustain bonds amidst entanglements. Synchronization through temporal agency prevents mismatches between transactions and social contexts that could strain ties. This agency in time ranges from passive adherence to dominant structures to active assertions of power resistance, enabling both domination and defiance across economic contexts. Analyzing shared temporal infrastructure within circuits of commerce further illuminates how actors distinguish those spheres of exchange at various scale from the impersonal market. Ultimately, incorporating temporality strengthens relational economic sociology by identifying a key mechanism through which practices of exchange become relationally meaningful.

Under the finfluence: Financial influencers, economic meaning-making and the financialization of digital life

Economy and Society · 2024-07-02 · 30 citations

“Conversing” with Qualitative Data: Enhancing Qualitative Research through Large Language Models (LLMs)

2023-06-15 · 9 citations

In this paper, I explore the transformative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT in the realm of qualitative research, particularly in the social sciences. These generative AI models, trained on extensive textual data, have the unique ability to "understand," generate, and manipulate human-like text, offering unprecedented opportunities for data analysis and interpretation. I argue that LLMs, with this capacity, can significantly enhance the depth and efficiency of qualitative analysis. They can quickly identify patterns, themes, and sentiments in the data, providing a level of nuance that can be challenging to achieve with manual coding. Furthermore, their ability to generate human-like text can be used to simulate social interactions, create engaging presentations of research findings, and even "converse" with the data in a natural and flexible way. Indeed a central contribution of this paper lies in exploring this novel concept of "asking questions of" or "conversing with" text-based data, which opens up new avenues for qualitative research and analysis. This interactive capability of LLMs provides a transformative approach to topic coding and content analysis, allowing researchers to pose complex, nuanced questions to their data and receive responses in natural language. Ethical considerations and limitations are also discussed.

Competing imaginaries: Crypto‐utopianism and the material forces of Bitcoin mining

Anthropology Today · 2023-07-31 · 12 citations

Drawing on Marx's theory of history, this article argues that the competition and capital accumulation inherent in the production of Bitcoin (i.e. ‘mining’) are at odds with the narrative discourses that position Bitcoin as a revolutionary technology capable of subverting traditional power structures. Through an analysis of the evolution of Bitcoin mining, the article demonstrates how the material conditions of its production have shifted over time, leading to the concentration of mining power among a few large corporate entities and a concomitant erosion of the decentralized ethos that underpinned the early Bitcoin community. The article also argues that this shift is not simply a result of the ‘natural’ evolution of the technology, but also the outcome of specific social and economic forces that encourage the accumulation of capital over Bitcoin's democratic and decentralized potentialities. Overall, the article suggests that the narrative discourses surrounding Bitcoin need to be understood in relation to the material forces that shape its production and circulation, and that a more nuanced analysis of the interplay between material and discursive factors is necessary to fully grasp the dynamics of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.