This is Your Portfolio on Winter: Seasonal Affective Disorder and Risk Aversion in Financial Decision Making

Social Psychological and Personality Science, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 193-199

Rotman School of Management Working Paper No. 1885665

Posted: 21 Jul 2011 Last revised: 13 Feb 2012

See all articles by Lisa A. Kramer

Lisa A. Kramer

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

J. Mark Weber

University of Waterloo

Date Written: March 1, 2012

Abstract

This study found that people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) displayed financial risk aversion that varied across the seasons as a function of seasonally changing affect. The SAD-sufferers had significantly stronger preferences for safe choices during the winter than non-SAD-sufferers, and they did not differ from non-SAD-sufferers during the summer. The effect of SAD on risk aversion in the winter was mediated by depression.

Keywords: decision making, individual differences, seasonal variations, financial risk tolerance, seasonal depression, behavioral economics, economic behavior

JEL Classification: C90, D10, G11, H30

Suggested Citation

Kramer, Lisa A. and Weber, J. Mark, This is Your Portfolio on Winter: Seasonal Affective Disorder and Risk Aversion in Financial Decision Making (March 1, 2012). Social Psychological and Personality Science, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 193-199, Rotman School of Management Working Paper No. 1885665, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1885665

Lisa A. Kramer (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management ( email )

105 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E6 M5S1S4
Canada
416-978-2496 (Phone)
416-971-3048 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lkramer

J. Mark Weber

University of Waterloo ( email )

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
Canada

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