AVERSION TO LOSS IN RISKY DECISIONS

Abstract

Studies of Behavioral Finances suggest a new attempt to encase economic and financial studies within human behavior by considering human nature and accepting the fact that economic agents are susceptible to errors and irrational actions. The base of Behavioral Finances is in the Perspective Theory according to Bernstein (1997), who explains behavioral patterns that were never before seen by scholars and theorists of the decisional process. The Perspective Theory points to two human differences that cause these patterns. The first is the fact that emotions frequently destroy the self-control that is essential when taking rational decisions. The second deficiency is the fact that people do not clearly and many times understand what they are dealing with, hence creating cognitive frames in their minds. These studies demonstrated that irrationality when deciding and choosing also occurs among investors, executives and administrators. By using Kahneman and Tversky’s (1997) study as a base, this work sought to verify how the evolution of the decisional process of 180 students of administration of the Universidade de Brasília takes place throughout their course by seeking to verify thus if administration studies interfere upon making a decision when they face risky situations. The results found in this specific population showed researched students demonstrated little inference of cognitive frames, which led to the conclusion that these frames do not occur in a generalized form as asserted by Kahneman and Tversky (Kahneman and Tversky 1984. apud BERNSTEIN, Peter L. Desafio aos deuses, p. 275).