Sensation Seeking, Overconfidence, and Trading Activity [report]

Mark Grinblatt, Matti Keloharju
2006 unpublished
This study analyzes the role that two psychological attributes-sensation seeking and overconfidence-play in the tendency of investors to trade stocks. Equity trading data are combined with data from an investor's tax filings, driving record, and psychological profile. We use the data to construct measures of overconfidence and sensation seeking tendencies. Controlling for a host of variables, including wealth, income, age, number of stocks owned, marital status, and occupation, we find that
more » ... confident investors and those investors most prone to sensation seeking trade more frequently.
doi:10.3386/w12223 fatcat:6r2jn6hw3vfj5foixu54nspzey