Daniel J. Howard, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University, says investor behavior demonstrates the principle of social proof: The more an individual sees those around him believing something or acting a certain way, the more the individual believes that thing to be true or the behavior appropriate.
“Stock market bubbles and crashes are caused by herd mentality,” Dr. Howard said. “It’s scary to me because we make our own heaven, and we make our own hell.”
The herd mentality is more fearful in a falling market, says George Loewenstein, a Carnegie Mellon University business professor who specializes in the emerging field of behavioral economics. That’s because individuals start fearing the economic consequences of the market sell-off: whether they will have a job; whether they should reduce spending; whether they’ll be able to make loan payments or get a loan to buy a car.
Those fears are evident in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released last week showing that 41 percent of Americans believe that a 1930s-style depression is somewhat or very likely over the next 12 months.
Dr. Howard expects those fears will put a dent in Christmas sales.
“It’s going to be terrible,” he said. “People are either uncertain or afraid. Those two moods ... do not bode well.”
- Herd mentality causes crashes, Post-Gazzette.com, October 26, 2008.
2. Several Bollywood stars have taken to Twitter to commemorate India’s Independence Day.
【Herd mentality?】相关文章:
最新
2020-09-15
2020-08-28
2020-08-21
2020-08-19
2020-08-14
2020-08-12