Behavioral finance and games: simulations in the academic environment

Abstract

The contribution from this study lies in its reflection on the factors that influence market efficiency, which requires a multidisciplinary view to analyze the intervening factors that impact results of the financial system. It also contributes by reflecting on the need for new approaches for training professionals who will go on to work in financial and related areas and preparing them by using different financial analysis techniques; by reflecting on the fact that analytical practices are influenced by social, cognitive, and emotional aspects, enabling the students to be better prepared to act in the financial market; by presenting various technical possibilities and providing more comprehensive knowledge to choose the one that best suits the object of analysis and their preferences; and by reflecting on different ways of perceiving investment opportunities and risk, which can be expanded on in other studies on the segmentation of clients according to their preferences in the investor market. The aim of this study was to analyze how social and psychological aspects influenced the decisions involved in simulated trading operations. The relevance lies in its discussion of the philosophical and epistemological position in finance, which suffers from a vision that only focuses on the rationality of means and does not explain the anomalies verified in the financial market. The study originated from the application of a company game simulating the work of stock market trading desk operators, applied in the Stock Market Operations course and using fundamental, technical, and graphical techniques. The population was intentional and made up of undergraduate and graduate students from one of the four best Brazilian federal universities. The data analysis was performed by analyzing the content of the questionnaires applied and the journal entries made during participant observation.