SynthesisF1000Research2025
Unpacking Investor Psychology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Behavioural Biases Shaping Investment Decisions.
Synthesis in F1000Research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: This study systematically examines how behavioural biases affect investment decisions across formal and informal financial markets, with a focus on emerging economies. It aims to map the evolution of the field, highlight neglected cognitive biases, and uncover geographical and methodological gaps in current research. Methods: A rigorous Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted using the PRISMA protocol, analysing 63 empirical studies from the Scopus database. Advanced bibliometric tools, VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, were employed to identify key trends, thematic clusters, and shifts in research focus in behavioural finance. Results: The review reveals a heavy concentration of studies on biases such as overconfidence, herding, and loss aversion, primarily within formal market settings and South Asian contexts. Many other essential biases, including regret aversion, anchoring, and emotional influences, are still rarely studied. Very few studies test real-world solutions, such as education, digital tools, or reminders, that may help people make better financial decisions. Visual and longitudinal mapping demonstrate a rising academic interest after 2016, but expose a lack of representation from many regions and emerging behavioural dynamics. Research on informal investing and diverse cultural settings is also limited. Conclusion: This review highlights that many investors, especially in emerging economies, are guided by emotions and mental shortcuts rather than careful reasoning. While interest in this topic has grown, most research still focuses on a few well-known biases and limited regions. Many significant biases, such as regret aversion and anchoring, remain underexplored. There is also very little evidence on what helps reduce these biases in real-world settings. This study advocates for more diverse, practical, and inclusive research that can help investors make informed financial decisions, particularly in informal markets where support is limited.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.