The Psychology of Investing

This authoritative book based on edited and updated speeches given at The Annual Congress on the Psychology of Investing at Harvard University explores the intricate connection between psychology and investment. A unique, accessible guide to current practices in population sampling. Now in its third edition, this popular sampling text continues to provide a highly readable, practical treatment of the subject. Keeping the mathematics to a minimum, it walks the reader through real-world sample surveys-from sampling designs to problems of missing data and nonresponse to estimation procedures. This expanded and updated edition reflects the many developments in the field since the publication of the Second Edition, including the latest methods of multistage sampling, analysis of sample survey data, and software manipulation. Sampling of Populations, Third Edition offers: * A wealth of examples illustrating key statistical issues with data sets available for downloading over the Internet. * An emphasis on the most widely used sampling designs today, including completely revised chapters on cluster sampling designs. * A new chapter devoted to telephone sampling and interviewing techniques-contributed by Robert Casady and James M. Lepkowski, who have made many important contributions in the area of telephone surveys. * Illustrative examples detailing how statistical analysis can be performed by means of software now available for use on personal computers and designed specifically for analysis of sample survey data. * Many new and updated practice exercises. "This compendium does an excellent job of analyzing the important, but understudied, psychological forces in individual investing. It includes provocative discussions of topics such as the asymmetries between buy and sell decisions, the differential reactions to earnings surprises, and the emotional dynamics of momentum investing."-Robert C. Pozen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Management and Research Company. "If everyone were perfect, profits from investing would not exist. The collective insights gained from The Psychology of Investing provide invaluable clues to imperfect human behavior and how to exploit it in the financial markets."-Arnold S. Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer, Martingale Asset Management, L.P. "In the irrational world of finance, this book uses psychology to see beyond the myth of the 'rational investor.' This clear, easy-to-follow lesson in behavioral economics is truly a shining example of mind over money."-Thomas G. Gutheil, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. "The contributors break new ground in addressing the complexities of investing from the perspectives of Personality Theory, Behavioral Finance, Organizational Psychology, Statistical Analysis, as well as through the eyes of the savvy market analyst. Eminently readable and technically sophisticated, this volume should stimulate more research into the world of money, markets, and motivations."-Robert W. Siroka, PhD, ABPP,Director, Center for the Pyschosocial Study of Financial Behavior, NYC.