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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Behavioral Finance by Duke University

4.4
stars
4,141 ratings

About the Course

We make thousands of decisions every day. Do I cross the road now, or wait for the oncoming truck to pass? Should I eat fries or a salad for lunch? How much should I tip the cab driver? We usually make these decisions with almost no thought, using what psychologists call “heuristics” – rules of thumb that enable us to navigate our lives. Without these mental shortcuts, we would be paralyzed by the multitude of daily choices. But in certain circumstances, these shortcuts lead to predictable errors – predictable, that is, if we know what to watch out for. Did you know, for example, that we are naturally biased towards selling investments that are doing well for us, but holding on to those that are doing poorly? Or that we often select sub-optimal insurance payment plans, and routinely purchase insurance that we don’t even need? And why do so many of us fail to enroll in our employer’s corporate retirement plans, even when the employer offers to match our contributions? Behavioral finance is the study of these and dozens of other financial decision-making errors that can be avoided, if we are familiar with the biases that cause them. In this course, we examine these predictable errors, and discover where we are most susceptible to them. This course is intended to guide participants towards better financial choices. Learn how to improve your spending, saving, and investing decisions for the future....

Top reviews

M

May 2, 2018

This course was a very good sum up of Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Definitely recommend to everyone who would like to know more about our flaws or would like to refresh your knowledge.

SK

Feb 25, 2020

Good course! There is just one thing I would improve here - an explanation of the mistakes after the tests are done. This improvement should increase the student`s understanding of specific topics.

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626 - 650 of 1,037 Reviews for Behavioral Finance

By Natasha H

Jul 14, 2020

I really enjoyed the Behavioral Finance course from Duke University. There was a good balance between independent reading and videos explaining some of the difficult topics in more depth. There was a good range of practical implications discussed, both related to finance and more broadly.

I found the assessment very difficult and at times the questions seemed very broad and not very relevant to the course content.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the Behavioral Finance course!

By Paul J

Aug 9, 2020

This course was really useful. The course differs in some ways by having lots of material to read and fewer lectures. But some of the nature of biases cant merely be presented by video. It does cover many of the biases and now that I know about them I can hopefully sidestep them when I see them. Overall its definitely worth your time. I would have liked to see a bit more content and have the exams be a bit more thorough with more explanations and hence the 4 stars.

By Rebeca M M d L

Dec 7, 2016

This course has very interesting and complete content. However, for begginers it can be a bit hard to take all quizes successfully at first attempt, due to the high number of concepts addressed in the videos and articles. Some concepts seems obvious at first, but a begginner can get confused among them. Maybe the material should be better organized in topics, in order to facilitate the comprehension of different ideas. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this course.

By bob n

May 28, 2020

While Interesting material, wish there were more examples. A bit of a potpourri of terms, a glossary would have been helpful. Videos did a nice job of filling in pieces. Also perhaps I rushed, but didn't sense a thread throughout the material. Readings/case studies in week 3 from thebubblebubble.com were interesting, would have like some discussions from course professors on one or two rather than only being asked about them in the week three quiz.

By Holger H

Dec 29, 2022

Comprehensive course on behavioural economics with a focus on getting those constraints in thinking and alternatives for rational thought explained in clear language. Although some prior knowledge in economics comes in handy, this course is clear enough to follow and complete for those with no experience in the dismal science. The video's are clear, the reading consists of college slides and the examples give a clear reading of complex processes.

By Eeshaan A

Mar 9, 2020

For people who think that they are interested in the field of Behavioral economics, this course could be a great starting point.

Also,

the course material (parts of it) have valuable, real life applications for you and me, which could mean the difference between an average life of common American or a quality life, build on profitable, solid, and well strategized financial decisions, knowing where the inherent biases in the human behavior lie.

By Judy D

Mar 21, 2022

I do not have a background in this field and took this course as an introduction. I found the material content to be very interesting, however, probably because this is my first venture into this field, I had a hard time applying the biases and terminology to the various scenerios but did enjoy trying. I find the evening news is more interesting as I try to apply what I learned from this course when applicable. A good introduction for me.

By Lindsay P

Aug 24, 2016

This is a great starter course/primer for behavioral finance! I would like to thank Dr Rasiel for the contents of this course.

Recommendations for improvement:

-Create a single sheet defining the biases contained in the course for easy reference.

-Add more examples and retrospectives that explain the similarities and differences between the biases.

Overall, I really enjoyed the course and look forward to additional courses on Behavioral Finance.

By chanel F

Oct 21, 2018

I loved the course! I felt it help me with understanding finance, financial bubbles, why markets crash and why we make the decisions we do faced in different scenarios and situations. I did feel there were a lot of things in the quizzes that were not covered in the reading material and videos. I found myself getting a lot of my answers from outside sources. overall I enjoyed the course and feel more confident in my investing!

By khanani

Jan 8, 2021

I genuinely enjoyed the course. Most of the concepts are similar and quite confusing but this will only push me to revisit the course material from time to time. I however, think this is the reason why investors tend to violate most of the biases. It is hard to fully recall or keep most of them in mind but I hope that it will make me question most of my decisions and those of others going forward.

By Oriol G i R

Aug 16, 2016

It's a great course, clear explanations and simple videos.

The missing star was lost on the way that misleading or undefined bias are presented, especially during the different decision phases.

I would like to propose to discuss a case of a stock share in a timeline, to see whether this "panic" or "overconfidence" applies, and also in global macroeconomics (e-g. the PIGS bubble, the debt bubble)

By Anchisa K

Nov 3, 2024

I personally gained practical and better understanding in financial decision makings from this course. I would highly recommend the course instructors to elaborate more about the quizzes especially module 2 and 3 as it would give benefit to all class attendants. Without the answer sheets, it may lead to misunderstanding and overconfidence as we've passed the course. Thank you.

By Deepak S

Jul 19, 2017

Its quite challenging to pass the quizes, especially if you are a beginner. And because its challenging to pass (or at least it seemed so), if you pass you gain a sense of achievement and learning.

Overall it was a great course, i have two areas of improvement to suggest:

1. Topics and course material can be more structured

2. Length of the course seemed short

By Kelby H

Jul 6, 2023

Great course for understanding how biases impact our decision-making in subtle ways. Provides a foundation for making more informed choices in certain situations, and touches on key economic principles that are both practical and theoretical. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to make smarter financial decisions and have greater situational awareness.

By Kristoffer A P

Dec 27, 2016

Interesting course. I just wished there was more interaction and discussion and that there is further clarification regarding the length of the course.

Right at the start Ms. Rasiel mentioned a 14-week course. I feel there's more to the course but I wasn't able to take advantage of it. There were also some videos that seem to start mid-way already.

By Arthur

Oct 17, 2023

Excellent course on introducing and identifying the concepts on what affects us in our decision making. However, there can be more examples and more thorough explanation of the concepts. Also, the answer key to explaining quizzes 2 and 3 are not there so it's difficult to understand why certain answers are correct and others incorrect.

By Caz P

Jan 8, 2022

Excellent material for younger students. The jargon feels rather unnecessary. I dislike labels (memorizable), i prefer a demonstration of full comprehansion.

External links did NOT work on my computer (elderly MAC) = rather hampering my revision of past bubbles. Had to find alternate sources with no way to tell if they are adequate.

By Oliver N

Jun 12, 2017

Contains a lot of excellent information. A very interesting course, and very useful for understanding our own biases and how people make sub-optimal choices. Unlike most courses on Coursera, you need to read the written pdf files as well as watch the videos - the videos alone don't cover all the information you need to pass the final.

By Akshat A

May 3, 2020

I found this course really interesting and very beautifully instructed. Week 2's course content is the most crucial aspect of this course. 10/10 recommendation to finance and economics backgrounds students. Won't take much time to understand the concepts because they have been very practically explained using day-to-day examples.

By Deepanshu M

Jul 4, 2022

The content was pretty amazing. Would have been better if the content was a little bit more video based and less of reading based ( 8-9 pdfs of 25 pages each on average). But as I can save them for future uses is one plus point of more reading material. Overall a goog to go course for anyone interested in Psychology + Finance.

By Judy S

Oct 22, 2017

I had a tougher time with this course than I thought I would. The supplemental materials were inadequate and I had a difficult time grasping the biases. Thankfully, the Internet was helpful. In all, I got a greater appreciation of behavioral economics. It is beyond money. It is in everything including the life choices we make.

By A S

Apr 9, 2023

The course is a good primer to learning behavioral finance. It covers all the biases and is snapshot of a difficult subject.Need to refer back to slides again and again.

The only issue I faced is that the course should have included

- Reference publications

- Detailed explanations

The questions in Quiz 3 are tough. Be aware :P

By Salim s

May 16, 2020

A Great course indeed. This course will add more value to your existing knowledge and will make sure you learn something more. Prof Emma is really very knowledgeable ,The quiz in the course is challenging. I would highly recommend this course for those who want to enhance their knowledge pertaining to behavioral finance.

By Xiao M

Aug 13, 2017

I hope the lecture is more connected to the reading, but with more different examples to fully explain those concepts. Also, it would be great if professors can help us differentiate those similar concepts in the lecture. Lastly, please add feedback of correct answers and explanation after quize questions! Thank you!

By Yiannis K

Jun 22, 2017

Very interesting course, I learned new terminology and it will be able to analyse certain behavior that I am noticing daily at work. The only minus that why is not 5 * is the presentations. They need a bit of work to be more attractive. PDF format is ok but not really helpfull to scroll down and read. Thank you!