Why We’re All Weird About Money

UX Researcher and Strategist Tina Lickova Explains

The UX Psychology (UXPS) Meetup group was founded to bring together people who are passionate about psychology, user experience, human behavior, design, and technology to create empowering knowledge-sharing experiences. The group was founded by Tållbeard, a User Experience Design Agency, and Cognitive Laboratories, experts in Customer Experience Research.

At the Meetup on February 20, 2020, UXPS was delighted to host Berlin-based UX Researcher and Strategist Tina Lickova as a guest speaker. Drawing on a wealth of experience in UX and Product Strategy, Lickova shared her talk “Financial Psychology Or — How We All Are Weird When It Comes to Money.”

Following her talk, Lickova took some time with us to share more about her background and perspectives. Read on to learn about her path, the strengths and weaknesses of studying cognitive bias, and what the German FinTech scene doesn’t need.

What first sparked your interest in User Experience?

Tina Lickova: Earlier in my career, I worked in advertising and I was preparing a fairly simple Facebook app. I found that explaining the mechanisms of the app to my client was a real challenge, so I began drawing wireframes into my Powerpoint presentations to help make things clear. I had so much fun doing it, it made me think about a career change. At that time, I also considered visual design, but the more I learned about the principles of design and the strategies behind it, the more I drew on that knowledge to describe ideas to designers.

Then two important things happened: I found out UI wasn’t my only option when I discovered the field of UX. Thank god I didn’t go into UI; those people have c! I also learned that UX design has a lot of research behind it, which is my perfect fit. That was it for me, I simply got hooked.

Who or what has been most inspirational for your professional development?

TL: Back in 2012, building the SUX Forum — the first platform for UX in Slovakia. The project began as a bunch of friends having beers together and talking about UX, but it very quickly developed into a serious Meetup with 25–50 people coming to the events regularly. I learned so much from all of my friends and colleagues from both Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Another big opportunity came in my next job, where I started running my own user tests. I was offered a UX analyst job (yup, after seeing my above-mentioned PPT portfolio) at 2FRESH. This chance was really a dream come true. Later 2FRESH invited me to lead a branch of the company in Slovakia. Both of these steps were game-changers for sure.

The last big change happened at NEUGELB. As is typical for professionals from small markets like Slovakia, I joined the team with mixed experience. After a period of time, we agreed that narrowing the scope of my role would be beneficial, so we made the decision that I would fully focus on research.

Your approach to UX draws strongly on cognitive bias and psychology. Do you think an understanding of cognitive bias and psychology is important for every UX professional?

TL: With Psychology, I’m completely on board. When it comes to cognitive biases in particular, they are very fancy now, aren’t they?

The topic of cognitive bias has become so popular among designers, that I’m sometimes scared that we’re overlooking a lot. It’s our profession’s bias to narrow the complicated human psyche into some labels and biases are pretty much doing the job. People are complicated, multi-faceted, and very irrational beings, which biases point out in a fantastic way, so I am not saying let’s not explore them… but let’s just not forget the complexity and context.

In your talk, you described many ways in which we’re all weird when it comes to money. Can you remember a time when you observed yourself being “weird” about money?

TL: A good example is my consumerism. I simply buy too much. I’m trying to reduce my purchases because most of the things I buy will become waste, and there’s already too much waste in this world. I ask myself: Do I really need this stuff, or am I trying to buy happiness, a sense of calm, or whatever with this expense?

On the other hand, I currently have 5 or 6 saving accounts for different purposes. As a daughter of a banker, I have a feeling I’m doing fine… but am I really? Do I know the conditions of my savings product in detail? Nope. Am I saving effectively? Maybe.

You shared statistics that showed Germans have a distrust of both banks and startups, which sounds pretty bleak for all the FinTechs out there. Do you have any advice for FinTech companies about building trust?

TL: Am I the one, frantically researching this topic, to give advice on this?

I would say, don’t simply build another bank. Look at N26. For me as a FinTech insider, it’s just another bank. From their customers’ perspective, it’s a bank where they never have to go to a branch and they can do everything through the app, which feels like a benefit. On the other hand, talking to research subjects, we still hear the same thing: they don’t trust these banks as well as when it comes to solving problems. They don’t find the service sufficient when they really help.

It comes down to the consistency of every aspect of your business. You can have a great app, but if your customer service sucks, that won’t save you.

You described four different financial typologies in your talk. In your experience, can everyone identify with one (or more) of these profiles?

TL: We can all find patterns in those types that we relate to but typology systems, especially the Klontz typology, can be pretty radical or on-the-edge, describing some extreme behaviors and attitudes. We look at it more as an inspiration, then something we would strictly follow or try to cluster our users into.

Are there any books, magazines, blogs, newsletters, social profiles, etc. you recommend for building a UX Psychology knowledge base and keeping current?

TL: I really like the classics like Jared Spool, Erika Hall, and uxmyths.com. Besides that, I’m more of a workshop-learner and I tend to go to workshops from other fields, which inspires me in my work.

Thank you, Tina, for taking the time to share!

You can find Tina Lickova on LinkedIn. Also, check out her full UX Psychology Meetup presentation on YouTube: “Financial Psychology Or — How We All Are Weird When It Comes to Money”.

UXPS — UX & Psychology — the Intersection of Human and Tech

Our mission is to bring together people who are passionate about psychology, user experience, human behavior, design, and technology to create empowering knowledge-sharing experiences. Our events feature thought leaders who share insights about the current tools, techniques, and research in use, giving the UXPS community a chance to exchange ideas and ultimately design better experiences.