Behavioral finance
By Albert Phung http://www.investopedia.com/university/behavioral_finance/default.asp Thank-you very much for downloading the printable version of this tutorial. As always, we welcome any feedback or suggestions. http://www.investopedia.com/contact.aspx
Table of Contents
1) Behavioral Finance: Introduction 2) Behavioral Finance: Background 3) Behavioral Finance: Anomalies 4) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Anchoring 5) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Mental Accounting 6) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Confirmation and Hindsight Bias 7) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Gambler's Fallacy 8) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Herd Behavior 9) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Overconfidence 10) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Overreactions and Availability Bias 11) Behavioral Finance: Key Concepts - Prospect Theory 12) Behavioral Finance: Conclusion
Introduction
According to conventional financial theory, the world and its participants are, for the most part, rational "wealth maximizers". However, there are many instances where emotion and psychology influence our decisions, causing us to behave in unpredictable or irrational ways. Behavioral finance is a relatively new field that seeks to combine behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with conventional economics and finance to provide explanations for why people make irrational financial decisions. By the end of this tutorial, we hope that you'll have a better understanding of some of the anomalies (i.e., irregularities) that conventional financial theories have failed to explain. In addition, we hope you gain insight into some of the underlying reasons and biases that cause some people to behave irrationally (and often against their best interests). Hopefully, this newfound knowledge will
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