Beyond bias: How behavioral biases shape investment decision-making and perceived financial well-being
-
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/imfi.23(4).2026.13
-
Article InfoVolume 23 2026, Issue #4, pp. 202–217
- 6 Views
-
0 Downloads
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Type of the article: Research Article
Abstract
This study examines the associations among behavioral biases, Investment Decision-Making, and Perceived Financial Well-Being among individual investors in Indonesia. It distinguishes respondents’ involvement in the investment decision-making process from decision quality and investment performance.
A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed using survey data from 505 Indonesian investors. The relationships among Anchoring Bias, Confirmation Bias, Loss Aversion, Overconfidence, Investment Decision-Making, and Perceived Financial Well-Being were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Permutation-based multi-group analysis was conducted to compare female and male respondents.
Anchoring Bias, Confirmation Bias, Loss Aversion, and Overconfidence were positively associated with Investment Decision-Making, with path coefficients ranging from 0.144 to 0.215 (p < 0.05). Investment Decision-Making was positively associated with Perceived Financial Well-Being (β = 0.527, p < 0.001). The significant specific indirect effects further indicated that Investment Decision-Making statistically mediated the associations between each behavioral bias and Perceived Financial Well-Being. The multi-group analysis showed that only the relationship between Investment Decision-Making and Perceived Financial Well-Being differed significantly by gender and was stronger among female respondents.
The findings contribute to behavioral finance research by showing that behavioral biases are associated with greater self-reported involvement in evaluating, selecting, and monitoring investments. These positive associations do not indicate that behavioral biases improve decision quality, investment performance, or objective financial conditions. Given the cross-sectional and self-reported nature of the data, the findings represent statistical associations rather than causal effects.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Institute for Research and Community Service (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat, LPPM), Universitas Andalas, through the Penelitian Jalur Unggulan Kepakaran research grant under Contract No. 398/UN16.19/PT.01.03/PJUK/2025. This funding played an important role in supporting the completion of this study.
- Keywords
-
JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)D91, G41, G11, I31
-
References44
-
Tables10
-
Figures0
-
- Table 1. Respondent profiles
- Table 2. Reflective measurement model
- Table 3. Formative measurement model
- Table 4. HTMT assessment of discriminant validity
- Table 5. Model fit
- Table 6. Structural model assessment
- Table 7. Direct and specific indirect effects
- Table 8. MICOM Results for Female and Male Groups: Compositional invariance
- Table 9. Equality of composite means and variances
- Table 10. Gender-based permutation MGA results
-
- Ahmad, M., & Shah, S. Z. A. (2022). Overconfidence heuristic-driven bias in investment decision-making and performance: Mediating effects of risk perception and moderating effects of financial literacy. Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, 38(1), 60-90.
- Alexandri, M. B., Usman, I., Narimawati, U., & Taryana, A. (2023). Unraveling the fintech landscape: A systematic mapping study on the impact of financial technology innovation on investment decision-making in ASEAN banking. Khazanah Sosial, 5(1), 113-124.
- Almansour, B. Y., Elkrghli, S., & Almansour, A. Y. (2023). Behavioral finance factors and investment decisions: A mediating role of risk perception. Cogent Economics & Finance, 11(2), Article 2239032.
- Bai, R. (2023). Impact of financial literacy, mental budgeting and self control on financial wellbeing: Mediating impact of investment decision making. PLOS ONE, 18(11), Article e0294466.
- Barber, B. M., & Odean, T. (2001). Boys will be boys: Gender, overconfidence, and common stock investment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(1), 261-292.
- Barberis, N. C. (2013). Thirty years of prospect theory in economics: A review and assessment. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(1), 173-196.
- Barberis, N. C. (2018). Psychology-based models of asset prices and trading volume. In B. D. Bernheim, S. DellaVigna, & D. Laibson (Eds.), Handbook of behavioral economics: Applications and foundations 1 (Vol. 1, pp. 79-175). Elsevier.
- Bettman, J. R., Luce, M. F., & Payne, J. W. (1998). Constructive consumer choice processes. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(3), 187-217.
- Brüggen, E. C., Hogreve, J., Holmlund, M., Kabadayi, S., & Löfgren, M. (2017). Financial well-being: A conceptualization and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 79, 228-237.
- Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Cupák, A., Fessler, P., & Schneebaum, A. (2021). Gender differences in risky asset behavior: The importance of self-confidence and financial literacy. Finance Research Letters, 42, Article 101880.
- Daniel, K., Hirshleifer, D., & Subrahmanyam, A. (1998). Investor psychology and security market under- and overreactions. The Journal of Finance, 53(6), 1839-1885.
- Dawood, H., Al Zadjali, F., Al Rawahi, M., Karim, S., & Hazik, M. (2022). Business trends & challenges in Islamic FinTech: A systematic literature review. F1000Research, 11, Article 329.
- Epley, N., & Gilovich, T. (2006). The anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic: Why the adjustments are insufficient. Psychological Science, 17(4), 311-318.
- Fisher, P. J., & Yao, R. (2017). Gender differences in financial risk tolerance. Journal of Economic Psychology, 61, 191-202.
- Furnham, A., & Boo, H. C. (2011). A literature review of the anchoring effect. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(1), 35-42.
- Gigerenzer, G., & Gaissmaier, W. (2011). Heuristic decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 451-482.
- Glaser, M., & Weber, M. (2007). Overconfidence and trading volume. The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, 32(1), 1-36.
- Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263-291.
- Kaustia, M., Alho, E., & Puttonen, V. (2008). How much does expertise reduce behavioral biases? The case of anchoring effects in stock return estimates. Financial Management, 37(3), 391-412.
- Kumar, S., & Chaurasia, A. (2024). The relationship between emotional biases and investment decisions: A meta-analysis. IIMT Journal of Management, 1(2), 171-185.
- Loibl, C., & Hira, T. K. (2009). Investor information search. Journal of Economic Psychology, 30(1), 24-41.
- Lusardi, A., & Streeter, J. L. (2023). Financial literacy and financial well-being: Evidence from the US. Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing, 1(2), 169-198.
- Mishra, S. K., & Kumar, M. (2012). A comprehensive model of information search and processing behaviour of mutual fund investors. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 17(1), 31-49.
- Mohanty, S., Patnaik, B. C. M., Satpathy, I., & Sahoo, S. K. (2024). Cognitive biases and financial decisions of potential investors during COVID-19: An exploration. Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, 42(3), 836-851.
- Netemeyer, R. G., Warmath, D., Fernandes, D., & Lynch, J. G., Jr. (2018). How am I doing? Perceived financial well-being, its potential antecedents, and its relation to overall well-being. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(1), 68-89.
- Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175-220.
- Odean, T. (1998). Volume, volatility, price, and profit when all traders are above average. The Journal of Finance, 53(6), 1887-1934.
- Owusu, S. P., & Laryea, E. (2023). The impact of anchoring bias on investment decision-making: Evidence from Ghana. Review of Behavioral Finance, 15(5), 729-749.
- Park, J., Konana, P., Gu, B., Kumar, A., & Raghunathan, R. (2010). Confirmation bias, overconfidence, and investment performance: Evidence from stock message boards (McCombs Research Paper Series No. IROM-07-10). SSRN.
- Pompian, M. M. (2006). Behavioral finance and wealth management: How to build optimal portfolios that account for investor biases. Wiley.
- Prasad, S., Kiran, R., & Sharma, R. K. (2021). Behavioural, socio-economic factors, financial literacy and investment decisions: Are men more rational and women more emotional? The Indian Economic Journal, 69(1), 66-87.
- Rabin, M., & Schrag, J. L. (1999). First impressions matter: A model of confirmatory bias. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(1), 37-82.
- Raut, R. K. (2020). Past behaviour, financial literacy and investment decision-making process of individual investors. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 15(6), 1243-1263.
- Riitsalu, L., & Murakas, R. (2019). Subjective financial knowledge, prudent behaviour and income: The predictors of financial well-being in Estonia. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 37(4), 934-950.
- Saha, S., Hasan, A. R., Mahmud, A., Ahmed, N., Parvin, N., & Karmakar, H. (2024). Cryptocurrency and financial crimes: A bibliometric analysis and future research agenda. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 7(8), Article 2024168.
- Shefrin, H. (2001). Behavioral corporate finance. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 14(3), 113-126.
- Simon, H. A. (2013). Administrative behavior (4th ed.). Simon and Schuster.
- Souza, V. V., Souza, L. L. F., Oliveira, O., de Souza, E. M., & Costa, J. S. (2024). Do heuristics affect Brazilian investors’ decision-making process? Review of Behavioral Finance, 16(2), 282-299.
- Thaler, R. H. (1999). Mental accounting matters. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12(3), 183-206.
- Todd, P. M., & Gigerenzer, G. (2012). Ecological rationality: Intelligence in the world. Oxford University Press.
- Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131.
- Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297-323.
- Xiao, J. J., & Porto, N. (2017). Financial education and financial satisfaction: Financial literacy, behavior, and capability as mediators. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 35(5), 805-817.


