The relationship between financial literacy, self-efficacy, and performance in a financial simulation game

We examined how financial literacy and financial self-efficacy relate to decision quality in an educational game simulating personal finance. Participants (n = 139) completed a financial literacy questionnaire based on the OECD (2022) survey, assessing knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes, as well as a financial self-efficacy scale, before or after playing Unforeseen: The decision game (2023). Game performance was measured using a composite score integrating well-being, financial virtues, retirement preparedness, and life achievements. We also generated random-response simulations to benchmark human performance. Correlations revealed that financial knowledge was weakly but positively associated with the overall game score and with retirement preparedness and achievements metrics. Self-reported financial behaviors and attitudes showed only selective associations with specific in-game indicators (behaviors with financial virtues; attitudes with financial virtues and retirement) but were unrelated to overall performance. Financial self-efficacy correlated with all three literacy components but was unrelated to any game performance metric. Human scores were higher than random simulation scores, indicating non-random and structured engagement with the task. These findings suggest that declarative knowledge contributes to decision performance in dynamic financial simulations but explains only a small proportion of individual differences. Self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and self-efficacy appear to capture motivational and experiential dimensions of financial literacy that do not directly translate into superior game performance. We discuss implications for using serious games to assess financial capability and for designing educational interventions that target higher-order cognitive skills alongside financial knowledge.