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Emotions and Chat in a Financial Markets Experiment

Author

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  • Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap

    (University of East Anglia)

  • Daniel John Zizzo

    (University of East Anglia)

Abstract

This paper examines experimentally two common conjectures in the popular literature on financial markets: that they are swayed by emotion and that they behave like a 'crowd'. We find consistent evidence that deviations of prices from fundamental value depend on the emotion of excitement and on the presence of independently identified 'irrational' traders. Other than through 'irrational' traders, there is no evidence, however, that non-price communication ('chat') influences prices. Subjects with an economics background make better traders.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap & Daniel John Zizzo, 2011. "Emotions and Chat in a Financial Markets Experiment," Working Paper Series 10, The Paul Woolley Centre for Capital Market Dysfunctionality, University of Technology, Sydney.
    • Handle: RePEc:uts:pwcwps:10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel John Zizzo, 2012. "Inducing natural group identity: A RDP analysis," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Science (CBESS) 12-01, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    2. Chris Brooks & Ivan Sangiorgi & Anastasiya Saraeva & Carola Hillenbrand & Kevin Money, 2023. "The importance of staying positive: The impact of emotions on attitude to risk," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 3232-3261, July.
    3. Björn Bartling & Vanessa Valero & Roberto A. Weber & Lan Yao, 2024. "Public Discourse and Socially Responsible Market Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(10), pages 3041-3074, October.
    4. Giovanni Ferri & Matteo Ploner & Matteo Rizzolli, 2016. "Count To Ten Before Trading: Evidence On The Role Of Deliberation In Experimental Financial Markets," CERBE Working Papers wpC07, CERBE Center for Relationship Banking and Economics.
    5. Kocher, Martin G. & Lucks, Konstantin E. & Schindler, David, 2016. "Unleashing Animal Spirits - Self-Control and Overpricing in Experimental Asset Markets," Discussion Papers in Economics 27572, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    6. Amos Nadler & Peiran Jiao & Cameron J. Johnson & Veronika Alexander & Paul J. Zak, 2019. "The Bull of Wall Street: Experimental Analysis of Testosterone and Asset Trading," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(9), pages 4032-4051, September.
    7. Praveen Kujal & Owen Powell, 2017. "Bubbles in Experimental Asset Markets," Working Papers 17-01, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    8. Adriana Breaban & Charles N Noussair, 2018. "Emotional State and Market Behavior [Bubbling with excitement: en experiment]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 22(1), pages 279-309.
    9. Butler, David & Cheung, Stephen L., 2018. "Mind, Body, Bubble! Psychological and Biophysical Dimensions of Behavior in Experimental Asset Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 11563, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Nguyen, Y. & Noussair, C.N., 2013. "Risk Aversion and Emotions," Discussion Paper 2013-041, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    11. Martin G Kocher & Konstantin E Lucks & David Schindler, 2019. "Unleashing Animal Spirits: Self-Control and Overpricing in Experimental Asset Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(6), pages 2149-2178.
    12. Domonkos F. Vamossy & Rolf Skog, 2021. "EmTract: Extracting Emotions from Social Media," Papers 2112.03868, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2023.
    13. Ferri, Giovanni & Ploner, Matteo & Rizzolli, Matteo, 2021. "Trading fast and slow: The role of deliberation in experimental financial markets," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    14. Charles N. Noussair & Steven Tucker, 2013. "Experimental Research On Asset Pricing," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 554-569, July.
    15. Steiger, Sören & Pelster, Matthias, 2020. "Social interactions and asset pricing bubbles," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 503-522.
    16. Hoyer, Karlijn & Zeisberger, Stefan & Breugelmans, Seger M. & Zeelenberg, Marcel, 2023. "A culture of greed: Bubble formation in experimental asset markets with greedy and non-greedy traders," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 32-52.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    asset bubbles; cheap talk; emotions; noise traders; behavioral finance.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

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