by Jean Chatzky
NBC News
Dec.28.2017
Would you rather have one marshmallow now — or two marshmallows later? It’s an iconic scenario made famous by psychologist Walter Mischel, the administrator of the 1960s “marshmallow test” measuring self-control and instant gratification. Most people go for the here and now. Swap out marshmallows with money, and you’ve got an all-too-common problem... More...
By Michelle Singletary November 10, 2017
The Washington Post
A number of websites and mobile apps can turn you into a budgeting wizard, doing everything from downloading your banking information and allowing you to create impressive charts to alerting you when you’ve blown past your self-imposed spending limits. But after years of working one-on-one with financially challenged people, here’s what I’ve found: The source of their money troubles isn’t their lack of a cool budgeting app. And most of the time, it has nothing to do with their lack of funds. More...
By Yuval Harari
April 18, 2017
The New York Times
[THE KNOWLEDGE ILLUSION
Why We Never Think Alone
By Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach, Riverhead Books]
In “The Knowledge Illusion,” the cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach hammer another nail into the coffin of the rational individual. More...
By Christopher Robbins
October 18, 2017
While most investors trust their financial advisors, many say they’ve had an experience undermining that trust.
Trust is the axis upon which an advisor-client relationship revolves, and according to “Trust and Financial Advice,” a paper from Vanguard’s Center for Investment Research, most advisors seem to be doing a good job establishing and maintaining their clients’ trust. More...
By Ben Hawkes, Business Psychologist
October 18, 2017
What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a narcissist?
It may be harder to tell than you think. In a 2016 study, researchers sent a survey to 466 business and MBA students asking them questions about their intentions to become an entrepreneur and their motives for entering entrepreneurial ventures. They also measured their standing on the "dark triad" traits - narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism - which are associated with antisocial and counterproductive behaviors. More...
By Ben Steverman
Private Wealth Magazine
October 20, 2017
In the world of high finance, it’s been an article of faith among some that the only way to succeed—or even survive—is to be ruthless. But a new study in the latest issue of the Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin suggests those money makers at the top of the food chain, hedge fund managers, could benefit from being a little less mean. More...
By
Sean Allocca
Financial Planning
October 25 2017
Advisors specialize in knowing every facet of their clients’ financial lives. Will they need to delve into their mental processes and emotional states as well?
Absolutely says Dan Egan, Betterment’s director of behavioral finance. With automated software digitizing many menial tasks — like rebalancing portfolios and utilizing tax-loss harvesting — the advisors’ value will hinge on dealing with complex human relationships, he says. More...
By Barry Ritholtz
Bloomberg View
October 20, 2017
Whenever I write about anything with even a vague political component, I always get the strangest correspondence. Much of it is unpublishable and sometimes amusing, and usually worthy of nothing more than a Twitter block. And yet these missives offer something useful about one of my favorite subjects: Why our brains are not wired for finance. More...
By Chris Risdom
Behavioral Scientist
October 25, 2017
There is a particular tension at the heart of applied behavioral science: We make decisions based on our unique circumstances and context, and yet we also desire solutions that can help people make better decisions on a massive scale. When I talk about this conflict inside the walls of a bank (I’m head of behavioral design at Capital One), I often describe it as “math versus snowflake.” More...
MedicalXpress
October 19, 2017
When it comes to financial investments, hedge fund managers higher in "dark triad" personality traits - psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism - perform more poorly than their peers, according to new personality psychology research. The difference is a little less than 1% annually compared to their peers, but with large investments over several years that slight underperformance can add up. The results appear in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. More...