Behavioral, Psychological and Socio- Economic Factors to Seeking Risk on the Stock Market or in the Gambling Den

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,7, University of Frankfurt (Main) (House of Finance-Endowed Chair of Personal Finance), language: English, abstract: What are the motivating factors for retail investors who seek excessive risk on the stock market and how do they relate to those of gambling? Who are these gamblers on the stock market in terms of socio-economic status and personalities? Are they different to those participating in other gambling markets? Which potential similarities exist between these groups? Do people participate in gambling because they prefer risky investments (sensation seeking) or are they misjudging the odds of winning (misled belief)? To answer these questions the following paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides the theoretical foundation for the analysis by defining gambling in a traditional sense and providing a framework for identifying gambling on the stock market. Section 3 analyses the motives for traditional gamblers and those on the stock market and links them to certain personality traits as well as socio-economic status. Section 4 briefly sums up the most important findings, compares differences and similarities between the two distinct groups and concludes.