Professional Education
Business and Management
| Online

Psychology of Finance

Understand the psychological influences of financial decision-making.

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At a Glance

Type
Professional Education
Enrollment
Open Enrollment
Duration
8 weeks
Format
Online
Cost
$2,500
Program Details

Master the thinking behind money management and financial trading.

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The University of Chicago’s eight-week course on the psychology of finance will help you to gain insight into money management and financial trading.

Designed For

Designed for business professionals and emerging leaders working in a management position for a financial institution or in general business management.

Understand Exactly What Impacts Supply and Demand

Global stock markets are constantly fluctuating. Our remote learning course will help you understand the psychological influences that drive market changes: the behavior of investors and financial analysts and how it impacts market outcomes.

After completing the course, you will be able to: 

  • Understand the psychology behind financial decisions made by business leaders and investors
  • Neutralize relevant biases
  • Make and encourage better financial decisions
  • Explain the consumer choice theory
  • Differentiate mental models related to behavioral finance
     
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What Drives Supply and Demand?

Understand the psychology behind financial decisions made by business leaders and investors.

 

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Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to teach you the biases that influence decision-making processes and how to apply this knowledge to make unbiased, rational decisions that have lasting impacts across a range of investment scenarios.

You will learn to:

  • Describe concepts such as utility, probability weighting, the certainty effect, and survivorship bias, as well as risk, gains, and losses
  • Explain the causation/correlation error, the mental error in probability weighting, the consequences of the anchoring bias, over-trading due to overconfidence, the equity premium puzzle, and active vs. passive mutual funds
  • Evaluate subjective vs. absolute probabilities and the framing and reversal of preferences

Bounded Rationality in Behavioral Finance

| Module 1

Learn to define and describe irrationality in human decision-making and in financial markets as well as to explain the basis and consequences of the consumer choice theory.

Utility

| Module 2

Gain insight into the Dual Process Theory and to use specific exercises to identify its influence on decision-making. You will also learn to use the Prospect Theory to explore the way we calculate risks and utility when making decisions, and the ways we avoid loss, and how anticipated regret can lead to problematic inaction.

Probability

| Module 3

Learn how to avoid mistakes when calculating probabilities and to utilize decision trees when calculating probabilities that depend on multiple factors. This module will also teach you to identify the factors that skew our calculations of probability.

Ambiguity

| Module 4

Understand how to critically distinguish between correlation and causality, in relation to the financial market and learn to identify the biases that could cloud an investor's judgement. You will also be taught how to think analytically in order to make rational, unbiased decisions.

Heuristics and Biases

| Module 5

Identify the heuristics in our thinking, show how they can become biases, and explore these biases' effects on financial decisions.

Framing and Mental Accounting

| Module 6

In this module you will explore the effects of language on our framing, analyze our attachment to our belongings, and examine our attitude towards change.

Behavior in Financial Trading

| Module 7

Learn which financial trends traditional economics fails to predict, while examining the trends that behavioral finance can predict. You will also discover how and why financial bubbles form.

Money Management

| Module 8

Understand the many factors behind our financial decisions, learn about the rules that all investors should follow, and the reasoning behind why most investors do not follow these rules.

Meet Your Instructor

George Dan, Financial Management and Decision-Making instructor

George Dan, MBA

Co-Founder and COO, User Nudge, Inc.

George Dan co-founded the startup User Nudge, Inc., after a lifelong journey to understand the way people make decisions. Using behavioral science, the company focuses on how those using online interfaces make decisions. Prior to founding his startup, Dan worked as the Head of Operations Analytics with a software-as-a-service company, where he designed processes, implemented new systems, and developed innovative ways of launching digital products. Dan received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2008, his master's certificate in project management from George Washington University, and his BA in electronics and telecommunications from the University of Timisoara in Romania. He is on the board of Family Service of Lake County, a non-profit organization that aims to strengthen families through counseling, education, and related mental health support.

Career Outlook

Behavioral finance proposes that psychological influences and biases affect the financial behaviors of investors and financial practitioners. All types of market anomalies, especially those related to the stock market, can be explained through these psychological factors. In a time of increased uncertainty and market volatility, behavioral finance is rapidly growing in practice. Advisors seek the need to incorporate this analysis into their wealth management processes to improve client experience, deepen relationships, and deliver better results. In a recent survey targeted at financial advisors, 81% of them said they were using behavioral finance techniques to build their clients’ portfolios and communicate with them.  

$ 81 k

The average annual base pay for an investment advisor in the US

# 4

The position of social/behavioral scientist in the ranking of emerging finance roles

81 %

The percentage of financial advisors that are using behavioral finance techniques

Potential Job Titles in Behavioral Finance

  • Behavioral Economics Researcher 
  • Behavioral Scientist 
  • Consultant 
  • Financial Analyst 
  • Financial Associate 
  • Investment Manager 
  • Personal Financial Advisor 

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Offered by The University of Chicago's Professional Education

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