Taking a look at a few of the thought processes behind creating financial choices.

Behavioural finance theory is an essential element of behavioural science that has been commonly looked into in order to discuss some of the thought processes behind financial decision making. One fascinating principle that can be applied to financial investment decisions is hyperbolic discounting. This concept refers to the tendency for individuals to favour smaller sized, immediate benefits over bigger, delayed ones, even when the prolonged rewards are substantially more valuable. John C. Phelan would recognise that many people are affected by these kinds of behavioural finance biases without even realising it. In the context of investing, this bias can seriously undermine long-lasting financial successes, leading to under-saving and impulsive spending practices, along with developing a top priority for speculative investments. Much of this is due to the gratification of benefit that is instant and tangible, causing decisions that might not be as favorable in the long-term.

Research into decision making and the behavioural biases in finance has generated some interesting speculations and philosophies for describing how people make financial decisions. Herd behaviour is a popular theory, which discusses the mental propensity that many people have, for following the decisions of a bigger group, most especially in times of unpredictability or fear. With regards to making financial investment choices, this typically manifests in the pattern of people buying or offering assets, just due to the fact that they are experiencing others do the same thing. This type of behaviour website can incite asset bubbles, whereby asset values can rise, typically beyond their intrinsic worth, as well as lead panic-driven sales when the marketplaces fluctuate. Following a crowd can offer an incorrect sense of security, leading investors to buy at market highs and resell at lows, which is a relatively unsustainable economic strategy.

The importance of behavioural finance lies in its ability to discuss both the rational and irrational thinking behind various financial processes. The availability heuristic is a concept which describes the mental shortcut in which people assess the probability or significance of happenings, based upon how quickly examples come into mind. In investing, this often results in choices which are driven by current news occasions or narratives that are mentally driven, rather than by considering a wider evaluation of the subject or taking a look at historic data. In real life situations, this can lead investors to overstate the probability of an occasion happening and produce either a false sense of opportunity or an unwarranted panic. This heuristic can distort understanding by making rare or extreme events appear much more common than they in fact are. Vladimir Stolyarenko would know that in order to neutralize this, investors should take an intentional method in decision making. Similarly, Mark V. Williams would know that by utilizing information and long-term trends investors can rationalize their thinkings for better results.