What is Herd Mentality Bias? In behavioral finance, herd mentality bias refers to investors’ tendency to follow and copy what other investors are doing. They are largely influenced by emotion and instinct, rather than by their own independent analysis. This guide provides examples of how investors may succumb to herd bias, as part of behavioral…
What is Overconfidence Bias? Overconfidence bias is a tendency to hold a false and misleading assessment of our skills, intellect, or talent. In short, it’s an egotistical belief that we’re better than we actually are. It can be a dangerous bias and is very prolific in behavioral finance and capital markets. This guide will unpack…
What is the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA)? The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is a trade collective made up of more than 800 participants from almost 60 countries around the world. In 1992, the association developed a standardized contract called the ISDA Master Agreement for derivatives transactions. The group works to establish…
What is Representativeness Heuristic? Representativeness heuristic bias occurs when the similarity of objects or events confuses people’s thinking regarding the probability of an outcome. People frequently make the mistake of believing that two similar things or events are more closely correlated than they actually are. This representativeness heuristic is a common information processing error in…
What is Hindsight Bias? Hindsight bias is the misconception, after the fact, that one “always knew” that they were right. Someone may also mistakenly assume that they possessed special insight or talent in predicting an outcome. This bias is an important concept in behavioral finance theory. Hindsight Bias Example Consider the 2008 financial crisis or…
What is Confirmation Bias? Confirmation bias is the tendency of people to pay close attention to information that confirms their belief and ignore information that contradicts it. This is a type of bias explored in behavioral finance. Our biases tend to limit our ability to make purely rational investment decisions. Confirmation Bias Example Let’s look…
What is Anchoring Bias? Anchoring bias occurs when people rely too much on pre-existing information or the first information they find when making decisions. For example, if you first see a T-shirt that costs $1,200 – then see a second one that costs $100 – you’re prone to see the second shirt as cheap. Whereas,…
What is the Narrative Fallacy? One of the limits to our ability to evaluate information objectively is what’s called the narrative fallacy. We love stories and we let our preference for a good story cloud the facts and our ability to make rational decisions. This means that we may be drawn towards a less desirable…
What is Cognitive Bias? A cognitive bias is an error in cognition that arises in a person’s line of reasoning when making a decision is flawed by personal beliefs. Cognitive errors play a major role in behavioral finance theory and are studied by investors and academics alike. This guide will cover the top 10 most…
