Intelligence and the repayment of high- and low-consequences debt

We study the relationship between intelligence and debt repayment of High Consequences Debt (HCD), such as mortgage debt, and Low Consequences Debt (LCD), such as credit card debt. We find that intelligence has a stronger negative effect on the repayment of HCD than on the repayment of LCD. Our results also indicate that personality has a stronger effect on HCD than LCD, and that the availability of financial resources has a stronger effect on LCD than on HCD. These results are explained by the effect of involvement on decision making processes in general, and financial decision processes in particular.