Cash or Card: Consumer Perceptions of Payment Modes - Scholarly ...

value in the tokens. Whilst the connotation of unclean is often linked to how money is
obtained and spent, because coins and notes are circulated and thus handled the circulation
factor adds to this notion of the token as ‘dirty’ objects per se. There are of course cultural
factors that influence the use of cash. For example it is acceptable to give cash at Chinese
weddings - however the gift must be wrapped in a red envelope thus hiding the tokens at the
point of giving.
In relation to payment mode use, current research suggests that the physical characteristic of
the payment mode influences the perceived transparency of the transaction. As Soman
(2003:174) points out, when cash is used it is easy to see that money is being spent – since it
has to be counted. So when using cash there is immediate and tangible awareness that
something of value has been transferred that is not present when electronic cards are used.
The assumption is that this tangible awareness is associated with psychological pain
(annoyance, grief) that is presumed to result from the loss of money and that the use of an
electronic card removes this awareness- Soman labels this the ‘decoupling effect’. He also
suggests that this decoupling affects our mental accounting ability- that is, how we weigh-up
our expenditures, how much we should spend on specific purchase types and how much we
are spending. Cash has to be counted and given and so the amount is easily known and
remembered.
3.3: Theoretical Basis and Propositions
This study assumes that money per se is a social construction i.e., the type and value of the
token is determined and agreed by a society (or groups of people). It is also assumed that
individuals may have additional unique set of thoughts and emotions that they associate with
the tokens. As such it is necessary to understand how individuals frame their responses to
tokens. Framing is used as a paradigm for understanding and investigating behaviour in all of
the behavioural science disciplines (Rendahl, 1995). The theory evolved out of Goffman’s
(1974) work that drew on the work of Kenneth Boulding (1956). Boulding argued that a
person’s self-image and understanding of society and nature helps with interpreting
information and instigating action. Goffman associated the idea of frames to his "schemata
of interpretation" – a tactic that allows individuals or groups "to locate, perceive, identify,
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