Exploring investors’ behavior : evidence from Amman Stock Exchange

Abstract EN

This paper is motivated by the research of Zoghlami and Matoussi (2009).

It is an attempt to identify the main psychological biases that may influence the investment behavior and drive a momentum effect in Amman Stock Exchange.

In order to achieve this purpose, six psychological factors were selected from previous theoretical and empirical research in behavior finance and contextual data sources.

The data was collected through a structured questionnaire that consisted of indirect questions followed by a set of responses associated with the different predetermined behavioral factors.

Respondents were a sample of active brokers in Amman Stock Exchange.

The results revealed that self attribution, opportunistic behavior, sensitivity to rumours and the mimicking attitude and to a less extent overconfidence seem to influence the investment behavior of the Jordanian investors.