Changing risk preferences while taking financial decisions an experimental approach

With respect to the concept of risk preferences the Neoclassical Capital Market Theory assumes stable and homogeneous ones. On the contrary, the Behavioral Finance Theory supposes variable and heterogeneous preferences. In the light of this conflict the research objective of the present paper is to determine the risk preferences of undergraduate students of the Autonomous University of Queretaro within the financial decision-making process using an experimental study design. Performing two simple experiments with a total of 146 participants the following main results were obtained: The majority of students clearly show heterogeneous risk preferences which were also adapted to varying decision situations – a result that clearly contradicts the position of the Neoclassical Theories. Based on the results of the study it is recommended to further strengthen the position of behavioral concepts in the areas of financial teaching and research in order to better understand the financial decision-making process on a capital market and enterprise level.

preferencias por el riesgo, toma de decisiones financieras, finanzas conductuales, teoría neoclásica del mercado de capitales, estudio experimental