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Loss Aversion

Changing behavior is one of the hardest things one can do, but as most successful marketers will tell you, it can be done in almost any circumstance. There are apps for the iPhone (I can’t speak for Android) which have succeeded in getting people to exercise or lose weight. Perhaps you might adapt one of them to suit your need.

Yes. If loss aversion is pervasive, then it should show up in regularities relating to price moves. The situation is complicated in futures where one person’s long profit when price goes up is the short’s loss. The endowment effect which is caused by loss aversion or the tendency to connect with what you own, could lead to holding something too long. The reference point effect, which is that people base their decisions on where they are, a variant of holding onto the status quo is also a factor. When there is a profit, a different type of endowment effect plays then when there is a loss. Especially when there has been a big loss and it turns into a profit, the loss aversion effect is greatest I believe. (more…)