Do Emotions Drive Money? An Empirical Study on Behavioural Biases Among Gen Z Investors

  • Unique Paper ID: 189884
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 8
  • PageNo: 4703-4714
  • Abstract:
  • The emergence of Generation Z investors in India is reshaping the retail financial markets landscape. Unlike previous generations of population, the 18- to 27-year-old Gen Z investors are digitally advanced individuals whose decisions are heavily influenced by technology, social media and peer groups. Mainstream finance theory assumes rational choice, but emerging data suggest that behavioural and emotional biases usually dictate financial decisions within this population segment. The article explains how biases of emotional and behavioural nature influence investment decisions in the case of Gen Z in particular, referring to overconfidence, herd behavior, loss aversion and fear of missing out. Stock, mutual fund, and cryptocurrency markets, which saw increased participation by young people, are the concern of the study. The main data will be collected using a questionnaire from Gen Z investors of urban and semi-urban regions. The standardized survey will also capture portfolio diversification patterns, risk tolerance, peer dependence and the relationship between financial literacy, risk assessment, and behavioural bias. Correlation analysis and descriptive statistics would be utilized in determining the determinants of Gen Z financial behavior. The technique focuses on custom-designed interventions that target both the emotional and cognitive aspects of decision-making. These include digitally native personal financial education campaigns, behavioural nudges in trading platforms, gamified learning interfaces and artificial-intelligence powered advice systems. These activities seek to reduce irrational decision making, increase financial resilience and foster a sustainable investment culture among India's youngest retail investors, as well as provide actionable insights for policymakers, educators and fintech entrepreneurs.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{189884,
        author = {R S Maanyah and Ananya Chaudhuri and Dr Reshma Sultana},
        title = {Do Emotions Drive Money? An Empirical Study on Behavioural Biases Among Gen Z Investors},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {4703-4714},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189884},
        abstract = {The emergence of Generation Z investors in India is reshaping the retail financial markets landscape. Unlike previous generations of population, the 18- to 27-year-old Gen Z investors are digitally advanced individuals whose decisions are heavily influenced by technology, social media and peer groups. Mainstream finance theory assumes rational choice, but emerging data suggest that behavioural and emotional biases usually dictate financial decisions within this population segment.
The article explains how biases of emotional and behavioural nature influence investment decisions in the case of Gen Z in particular, referring to overconfidence, herd behavior, loss aversion and fear of missing out. Stock, mutual fund, and cryptocurrency markets, which saw increased participation by young people, are the concern of the study. The main data will be collected using a questionnaire from Gen Z investors of urban and semi-urban regions. The standardized survey will also capture portfolio diversification patterns, risk tolerance, peer dependence and the relationship between financial literacy, risk assessment, and behavioural bias. Correlation analysis and descriptive statistics would be utilized in determining the determinants of Gen Z financial behavior.
The technique focuses on custom-designed interventions that target both the emotional and cognitive aspects of decision-making. These include digitally native personal financial education campaigns, behavioural nudges in trading platforms, gamified learning interfaces and artificial-intelligence powered advice systems. These activities seek to reduce irrational decision making, increase financial resilience and foster a sustainable investment culture among India's youngest retail investors, as well as provide actionable insights for policymakers, educators and fintech entrepreneurs.},
        keywords = {Gen Z Investors, Behavioural Finance, Behavioural Biases, Risk Perception, Financial Literacy, Investment Decisions},
        month = {January},
        }

Cite This Article

Maanyah, R. S., & Chaudhuri, A., & Sultana, D. R. (2026). Do Emotions Drive Money? An Empirical Study on Behavioural Biases Among Gen Z Investors. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(8), 4703–4714.

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