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Mental models of the stock market

Author

Listed:
  • Andre, Peter
  • Schirmer, Philipp
  • Wohlfart, Johannes
Abstract
Investors' return expectations are pivotal in stock markets, but the reasoning behind these expectations remains a black box for economists. This paper sheds light on economic agents' mental models - their subjective understanding - of the stock market, drawing on surveys with the US general population, US retail investors, US financial professionals, and academic experts. Respondents make return forecasts in scenarios describing stale news about the future earnings streams of companies, and we collect rich data on respondents' reasoning. We document three main results. First, inference from stale news is rare among academic experts but common among households and financial professionals, who believe that stale good news lead to persistently higher expected returns in the future. Second, while experts refer to the notion of market efficiency to explain their forecasts, households and financial professionals reveal a neglect of equilibrium forces. They naively equate higher future earnings with higher future returns, neglecting the offsetting effect of endogenous price adjustments. Third, a series of experimental interventions demonstrate that these naive forecasts do not result from inattention to trading or price responses but reflect a gap in respondents' mental models - a fundamental unfamiliarity with the concept of equilibrium.

Suggested Citation

  • Andre, Peter & Schirmer, Philipp & Wohlfart, Johannes, 2023. "Mental models of the stock market," SAFE Working Paper Series 406, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:safewp:279782
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4589777
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    Cited by:

    1. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Yin, Xiao, 2024. "Higher-Order Beliefs and Risky Asset Holdings," IZA Discussion Papers 17120, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Bauer, Rob & Gödker, Katrin & Smeets, Paul & Zimmermann, Florian, 2024. "Mental Models in Financial Markets: How Do Experts Reason about the Pricing of Climate Risk?," IZA Discussion Papers 17030, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Rob Bauer & Katrin Gödker & Paul Smeets & Florian Zimmermann, 2024. "Mental Models in Financial Markets: How Do Experts Reason About the Pricing of Climate Change?," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_569, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    4. Duraj, Kamila & Grunow, Daniela & Chaliasos, Michael & Laudenbach, Christine & Siegel, Stephan, 2024. "Rethinking the stock market participation puzzle: A qualitative approach," IMFS Working Paper Series 210, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    5. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman G. Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," CESifo Working Paper Series 11264, CESifo.
    6. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2024. "Measuring What Is Top of Mind," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 298, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    7. Hackethal, Andreas & Hanspal, Tobin & Hartzmark, Samuel M. & Bräuer, Konstantin, 2024. "Educating investors about dividends," SAFE Working Paper Series 420, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    8. Hackethal, Andreas & Hanspal, Tobin & Hartzmark, Samuel M. & Bräuer, Konstantin, 2024. "Educating investors about dividends," CFS Working Paper Series 725, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    9. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman G. Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 096, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mental models; return expectations;

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy

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