The Financial Psychology of Worry and Women

Abstract

This paper provides a review of significant academic studies and non-academic research endeavors in the realm of negative emotions (with an emphasis on worry), gender, and decision making. The author encourages behavioral finance researchers to place greater attention into the development of new research studies and academic papers in the area of negative affect (feelings, emotions, moods). The financial psychology literature on gender and worry documents the emerging hypothesis that researchers should explore is women reveal greater degrees of worry than their male counterparts for different categories of financial services and investment products.

Keywords: Finance, Investing, Worry, Gender, Risk, Negative Affect, Emotion, Behavioral Finance, Risk Tolerance, Children, Decision Making, Judgment, Anxiety, Stress, Depression, Fear, Behavioral Economics, Consumer Behavior, Money Sickness, Money Personality, Money Psychology, Consumer Spending, Happiness

JEL Classification: M00, A00, A20, A23, I20, M40