In this article, I incorporate the anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic into the Black-Scholes option pricing framework, and show that this is equivalent to replacing the risk-free rate with a higher interest rate. I show that the price from such a behavioralized version of the Black-Scholes model...

Categorization is the mental operation by which brain classifies objects and events. We do not experience the world as a series of unique events. Rather, we make sense of our experiences within a framework of categories that represent prior knowledge. Given that categorization is the core of...

Given that categorization is the core of cognition, we argue that investors do not view firms in isolation. Rather, they view them within a framework of categories that represent prior knowledge. This involves sorting a given firm into a category and using categorization-induced inferences to...

The principle of no arbitrage says that identical assets should offer the same returns. However, experimental and anecdotal evidence suggests that people often rely on analogy making while valuing assets. The principle of analogy making says that similar assets should offer the same returns. I...

Experimental evidence and opinions of market professionals suggest that people rely on mental accounting while valuing a call option. I show that mental accounting generates a closed-form alternative to the Black Scholes formula that does not require a complete market. The new formula is...

The two most intriguing anomalies in currency markets are: 1) the implied volatility smile in currency options, and 2) the forward discount bias in currency exchange rates. I show that if currency options are valued in analogy with the underlying currency and beliefs are heterogeneous, then the...

Market professionals with decades of experience typically argue that a call option is a surrogate for the underlying asset, indicating that they perceive the risk of a call option as similar to the risk of the underlying asset. Experimental evidence also points to the same conclusion. Such...

An anchoring adjusted option pricing model is put forward in which the risk of the underlying stock is used as a starting point that gets adjusted upwards to estimate call option risk. Anchoring bias implies that such adjustments are insufficient. Black-Scholes formula is a special case with no...

An anchoring adjusted option pricing model is put forward in which the risk of the underlying stock is used as a starting point that gets adjusted upwards to estimate call option risk. Anchoring bias implies that such adjustments are insufficient. Black-Scholes formula is a special case with no...

An anchoring adjusted currency option pricing formula is developed in which the risk of the underlying currency is used as a starting point which gets adjusted upwards to arrive at the currency call risk. Anchoring bias implies that such adjustments are insufficient. The new formula converges to...