USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

Corey K. Yeung

First Advisor

Thesis Director: Todd Shank, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Kate Tiedemann College of Business

Second Advisor

Thesis Committee Member: James Schoenbeck, CFA, Adjunct Professor, Kate Tiedemann College of Business

Third Advisor

Thesis Committee Member: Thomas Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Document Type

Thesis

Date Available

2017-10-04

Publication Date

2016

Date Issued

2016-04-25

Abstract

Behavioral finance is relatively new subject matter tying in the fundamental relationship between the mind and financial decision-making. Basic psychological theories and biases will be introduced in the research proposal and will be connected to its impact on financial decisions. This new topic has grown over the years because it has proven to have many direct practicalities in how people behave in making financial decisions. Based on behavioral and cognitive psychological theories, how people think impacts the traditional academic disciplines of economics and finance. This hot topic is continually expanding and developing as a field of practice and delves into why people make irrational financial decisions. The underlying concern is whether or not this topic is credible and actually has a significant influence on financial professionals and everyday investors. From historical examples to peculiar similarities finance and psychology share with one another, behavioral finance may very well continue to grow and be the next big subject of discussion in financial decision-making.

The mind is a powerful tool that influences all of our decisions. These decisions can range from deciding whether or not to participate in community activities, to accepting or declining a job offer, from choosing to spend a Saturday night reading or going out to a sports game, to deciding in attending an in-state college or an out-of-state one. Most everyone is aware of the significant impact making a decision can be. Decisions are prevalent in our lives, which is why bringing more attention to understanding psychological influences in financial-decision making is just as important. Whether one is a financial professional or an everyday investor, behavioral finance has an impact on a person's ability to make a rational financial decision.

Comments

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the University Honors Program University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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