Is
seasonal-affective disorder shaping your investment decisions? To find
out, researchers tested the risk aversion with respect to money matters
of several hundred people in July 2008, December 2008 and July 2009.
The participants answered questions about depression and other
personal characteristics and, at the end of each session, got the option
of either walking away with $20 or risking some portion of it to make
more money (the boldest bet involved a 50-50 chance to earn $42—or
nothing).
The
researchers compared people who showed higher levels of depression in
winter than summer (the SAD cohort) with those who didn't. Relative to
the others, the SAD group became substantially more risk-averse during
the winter. Winter gloom may be adding a financial penalty to its
emotional toll or, in a tumbling market, helping those with SAD to
preserve their capital.
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