Prioritizing the Role of Effective Psychological Factors in Mental Representation on the Justification of Behavior and the Decision-Making Process of Management Accountants

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student, Accounting Department, Khomein Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomein, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Accounting Department, Damavand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damavand, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Accounting Department, Khomein Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomein, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Behshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Behshahr, Iran

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this research is Prioritizing the role of effective psychological factors in mental representation on the justification of Behavior and The Decision-Making Process of Management Accountants. In terms of orientation, the research is applied research; In terms of research philosophy, the research method is a mixed type and in terms of the goal, it is exploratory research. In the qualitative part of the research, based on the content analysis approach, the effective psychological factors on the justification of the behavior and decision-making process of accountants were identified, and after coding and classifying the identified theories, the target model including 4 main psychological theories and 39 related sub-theories was presented. In the quantitative part, the prioritization of psychological factors effective in mental representation was determined by surveying 10 experts in the field of management accounting using the fuzzy Delphi method and also by using the questionnaire of paired comparisons and hierarchical analysis. The prioritization results showed that motivational, social, personality and cognitive psychological factors have the highest priority, and in the case of sub-theories, goal setting, social comparison and cognitive dissonance have the greatest impact on mental representation that is effective in justifying the behavior and performance of accountants. This result shows that management accountants besides searching the available information in a logical way, their mind and behavior are effective on the accounting procedures and the preparation of information is influenced by their psychological tendencies.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Accounting Advances
Volume 16, Issue 2
February 2024
Pages 285-336

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 May 2024
  • Revise Date: 20 January 2025
  • Accept Date: 28 January 2025

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