In: Finance
The Brain Game
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to the
well-known scientific fact that humans do not make decisions
rationally. Most of the time, decisions are made without people
even realizing the “why” behind their decisions. Our decisions are
often driven by our own biases instead of logic or good judgement.
These numerous “poor instincts” are called cognitive biases. It is
important to identify cognitive biases in Personal Finance because
they cause so many of the common financial errors in our society.
Google defines these as follows: “Cognitive biases are tendencies
to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations
from a standard of rationality or good judgment, and are often
studied in psychology and behavioral economics.” This is one reason
why in personal finance, learning the tools tends to be much easier
than applying them.
First, find a list of cognitive biases online. Second, pick four
cognitive biases that are related to personal finance. Third, fill
out the details below for each one.
1.a. Name(s) of the
bias:______________________________________________
1.b. Definition of this bias:
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1.c. Example of how this bias affects personal finance
decisions:
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1.d. Products or services that attempt to correct this bias:
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2.a. Name(s) of the
bias:______________________________________________
2.b. Definition of this bias:
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2.c. Example of how this bias affects personal finance
decisions:
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2.d. Products or services that attempt to correct this bias:
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3.a. Name(s) of the
bias:______________________________________________
3.b. Definition of this bias:
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3.c. Example of how this bias affects personal finance
decisions:
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3.d. Products or services that attempt to correct this bias:
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4.a. Name(s) of the
bias:______________________________________________
4.b. Definition of this bias:
____________________________________________________________________________
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4.c. Example of how this bias affects personal finance
decisions:
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4.d. Products or services that attempt to correct this bias:
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A. List of Cognitive biases
Most of the decisions we believe we’re making with a clear mind are actually controlled by mental shortcuts known as cognitive biases.
List of Cognitive biases :
1. Confirmation bias
2. Conformity bias
3. Authority bias
4. Loss aversion bias
5. False casualty bias
6. Action bias
7. Self serving bias
8. Framing bias
9. Ambiguity bias
10. Strategic mis representation
11. Bandwagon bias
12. Projection bias
13. Pro innovation bias
14. Anchoring bias
15. Status quo bias
16. Feature positive effect
B. Four cognitive biases related to Finance