Chapter 7 of 11 in the Personal Finance Curriculum.
Investor Psychology
Understand the biases and emotions that derail smart investors.
What you'll learn
- How cognitive biases affect investment decisions
- Why panic is the real portfolio killer
- The difference between storytelling and number-crunching in investing

The Psychological Toll
ArticleSurviving the 20% drop - the psychology of market crashes.
Common money biases: loss aversion, herd behaviour and recency
Short LessonRecognise the three biases that most often push ordinary investors into selling low and buying high.

Storytellers and Number Crunchers
ArticleWhich type of investor are you? Two approaches to making decisions.
Why you are your portfolio's biggest risk (behaviour beats fund choice)
Short LessonUnderstand why investor behaviour, not fund selection, usually decides real-world returns.

Write Your Investment Thesis
ArticleWrite it before the next crash so you have a plan when emotions run high.
What is speculation?
Short LessonUnderstand what speculation is, how it differs from investing, and how it feeds bubbles.
Meme stocks: the 2021 frenzy
Short LessonUnderstand what happened in the 2021 meme-stock frenzy and the lesson for ordinary investors.

What Is Speculation?
ArticleWhere investing ends and gambling begins.
Crypto crashes: booms, busts and FOMO
Short LessonUnderstand crypto hype cycles, why volatility is extreme, and why latecomers tend to get burned.

Why Dividend Investing Feels Safer (But Isn't)
ArticleThe psychological appeal of dividends and why the safety is mostly an illusion.
Is day trading worth it? Why most lose money
Short LessonUnderstand the evidence and psychology behind why most day traders lose money over time.
Leverage and CFDs
Short LessonUnderstand how leverage and CFDs work and how they can cause losses bigger than your stake.
Knowledge check
Test what you learned
1. The biggest danger to most investors' long-term returns is usually:
2. Writing an investment plan or thesis in advance helps because:
3. Why can dividend investing feel safer than it really is?