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Fear and Greed in Financial Markets: A Clinical Study of Day-Traders

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Author Info
Andrew W. Lo
Dmitry V. Repin
Brett N. Steenbarger

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Abstract

We investigate several possible links between psychological factors and trading performance in a sample of 80 anonymous day-traders. Using daily emotional-state surveys over a five-week period as well as personality inventory surveys, we construct measures of personality traits and emotional states for each subject and correlate these measures with daily normalized profits-and-losses records. We find that subjects whose emotional reaction to monetary gains and losses was more intense on both the positive and negative side exhibited significantly worse trading performance. Psychological traits derived from a standardized personality inventory survey do not reveal any specific "trader personality profile", raising the possibility that trading skills may not necessarily be innate, and that different personality types may be able to perform trading functions equally well after proper instruction and practice.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11243.

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Date of creation: Apr 2005
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11243

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G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. David Hirshleifer & Tyler Shumway, 2003. "Good Day Sunshine: Stock Returns and the Weather," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1009-1032, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. George Loewenstein, 2000. "Emotions in Economic Theory and Economic Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 426-432, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Colin Camerer & George Loewenstein & Drazen Prelec, 2005. "Neuroeconomics: How Neuroscience Can Inform Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 43(1), pages 9-64, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Andrew W. Lo & Dmitry V. Repin & Brett N. Steenbarger, 2005. "Fear and Greed in Financial Markets: A Clinical Study of Day-Traders," NBER Working Papers 11243, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Jon Elster, 1998. "Emotions and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 47-74, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Isen, Alice M. & Geva, Nehemia, 1987. "The influence of positive affect on acceptable level of risk: The person with a large canoe has a large worry," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 145-154, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Mittal, Vikas & Ross, William T., 1998. "The Impact of Positive and Negative Affect and Issue Framing on Issue Interpretation and Risk Taking," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 298-324, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Anna Krivelyova & Cesare Robotti, 2003. "Playing the field: Geomagnetic storms and international stock markets," Working Paper 2003-5a, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  9. Brandstatter, Hermann & Guth, Werner, 2000. "A psychological approach to individual differences in intertemporal consumption patterns," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 465-479, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Colin Camerer & George Loewenstein & Drazen Prelec, 2003. "Neuroeconomics: How neuroscience can inform economics," Levine's Bibliography 506439000000000484, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Mark J. Kamstra & Lisa A. Kramer & Maurice D. Levi, 2003. "Winter Blues: A SAD Stock Market Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 324-343, March. [Downloadable!]
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  1. Andrew W. Lo & Dmitry V. Repin & Brett N. Steenbarger, 2005. "Fear and Greed in Financial Markets: A Clinical Study of Day-Traders," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 352-359, May. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hopfensitz, Astrid & Wranik, Tanja, 2009. "How to adapt to changing markets: experience and personality in a repeated investment game," MPRA Paper 17835, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  3. Kenning, Peter & Mohr, Peter & Erk, Susanne & Walter, Henrik & Plassmann, Hilke, 2006. "The role of fear in home-biased decision making: first insights from neuroeconomics," MPRA Paper 1076, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Nov 2006. [Downloadable!]
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