We develop and test a framework of mental information representation in an asset market setting. The model predicts heterogeneous trading behavior as a consequence of two distinct mental capabilities: analytical skills and mentalizing, where the former involves quantitative, objective aspects of...

We prove that a subtle but substantial bias exists in a standard measure of the conditional dependence of present outcomes on streaks of past outcomes in sequential data. The magnitude of this novel form of selection bias generally decreases as the sequence gets longer, but increases in streak...

We propose and test a new heuristic on the decision to buy or rent a house: the mortgage illusion, in which potential home buyers are influenced by the comparison between the monthly rental payment and the monthly mortgage installment, for fixed rate mortgages. We find experimental evidence that...

Technological advances are creating a shift in the information disclosure environment allowing more investors to interact with management. We examine three key levels of trader-management interaction to assess the accuracy of traders' market-tested value estimates and resulting market price....

This research investigates the role of financial literacy on initiating and achieving a favorable negotiation outcome in an employment context. With a goal of improving long-term financial well-being, extant research examines whether increasing a person's understanding of basic financial...

This paper studies the behavioral mechanisms underlying the increase in strategic defaults during an economic crisis. We report data from a laboratory experiment in which we exogenously vary the state of the economy. Our data reveal two main reasons for why an economic contraction adversely...

Growing evidence shows that biological factors affect individual financial decisions that could be reflected in financial markets. Testosterone, a chemical messenger especially influential in male physiology, has been shown to affect economic decision making, and is taken as a...

When choosing a particular alternative from a number of financial assets, risk is an important feature. According to the classic Capital Assets Pricing Model (CAPM), we would expect to receive a positive correlation between risk and return of financial assets. However, studies show that...

Anti-market ideology pre-exists modern capitalism, is diffused in capitalistic economies, and peaks during economic crises. Is anti-market ideology an inert cultural by-product of crises, or does it affect economic decision making? If it does, through which channels? I manipulate exposure to...

The disposition effect refers to the investors' tendency to disproportionately sell more winning than losing assets. This experiment evaluates its two competing behavioral mechanisms: belief in mean reversion and prospect theory. The participants were endowed with some hypothetical assets,...