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Selling losers and keeping winners: How (savings) goal dynamics predict a reversal of the disposition effect

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  • Jaakko Aspara
  • Arvid Hoffmann

Abstract

A well-documented behavioral pattern in consumer financial decision making is the disposition effect, which refers to the tendency to sell winning investments too early while holding on to losing investments too long. This bias has negative wealth consequences, because typically, individuals' losing investments continue to underperform while their winning investments continue to outperform. Using a goal-systemic framework, the present research indicates that individuals' susceptibility to the disposition effect can be reversed by activating a superordinate (savings) goal. Experimental results indicate that three effective ways to activate a superordinate (savings) goal, and thereby reverse the disposition effect, are as follows: (1) subtly prime it with goal-related words, (2) prime it by making an overall portfolio loss salient, and (3) prime it by explicitly mentioning a goal with a clear-end state. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Jaakko Aspara & Arvid Hoffmann, 2015. "Selling losers and keeping winners: How (savings) goal dynamics predict a reversal of the disposition effect," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 201-211, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:26:y:2015:i:2:p:201-211
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-013-9275-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Zeeshan Ahmed & Shahid Rasool & Qasim Saleem & Mubashir Ali Khan & Shamsa Kanwal, 2022. "Mediating Role of Risk Perception Between Behavioral Biases and Investor’s Investment Decisions," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    2. Marta Pizzetti & Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele, 2021. "Firms Talk, Suppliers Walk: Analyzing the Locus of Greenwashing in the Blame Game and Introducing ‘Vicarious Greenwashing’," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 21-38, April.
    3. Richards, Daniel W. & Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark & Rutterford, Janette & Kodwani, Devendra G., 2018. "Is the disposition effect related to investors’ reliance on System 1 and System 2 processes or their strategy of emotion regulation?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 79-92.

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