Level of Analysis in the Studies of the Meaning of Money

Abstract

Studies related to the meanings of money have shown empirically its multidimensional character. Despite the social relevance of the subject there has been only few publications related to it. Thus in this article we descried the main findings and the meanings of money in different aspects: conceptual, theoretical (levels of analysis) and methodological (operational). We use data from publications from 2000-2014 found in indexed databases. From these we have identified three levels of analysis (intraindividual, interindividual-social and ideological), predominance of the use of structured questionnaires and participants with a university background as well as an emphasis to identify the meanings attributed to money. We discussed the need for more integrative explanatory models that consider the various contexts from which such meanings emerge, as well as the development of research that addresses the applicability of the results.