Exploring the Role of Gender and Educational Background on Cognitive Biases in Investing Habits: A Study on Postgraduate Students

  • Unique Paper ID: 165399
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 659-665
  • Abstract:
  • This paper explores the influence of cognitive biases, as identified in the Behavioral Finance literarure, on investment decision-making among postgraduate students of St. Xavier's University Kolkata. Based on a questionnaire-based methodology, the paper studies three primary cognitive biases: Mental Accounting Bias, Anchoring Bias, and Overconfidence Bias among postgraduate students with a view to uncovering the role of gender and educational background (Commerce, Economics, or Psychology) in influencing these biases. The study further goes on to explore any possible inter-relationships between the biases studied. Responses were collected from students of M.Com., M.A. Psychology, and M.A. Economics. The analysis reveals that male students exhibit higher levels of overconfidence bias compared to their female counterparts, while no significant gender-based differences were found for mental accounting and anchoring biases. Additionally, significant variations in overconfidence bias were observed among students from different departments, whereas mental accounting and anchoring biases remained consistent across disciplines. Correlation analysis indicates that the three biases studied do not show strong interrelations, suggesting they operate independently within the decision-making processes of the participants. This research contributes valuable insights into the cognitive biases affecting young investors in an academic setting, highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions to facilitate informed financial decision-making and mitigate the impact of these biases.

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