TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Examination of Individual Investors' Investment Decisions from a Behavioral Finance Perspective
TT  - Bireysel Yatırımcıların Yatırım Kararlarının Davranışsal Finans Yönünden İncelenmesi
AU  - Yürük, Muhammed Fatih
PY  - 2025
DA  - October
Y2  - 2025
DO  - 10.25229/beta.1643860
JF  - Bulletin of Economic Theory and Analysis
JO  - Beta
PB  - Mehmet SONGUR
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2548-0707
SP  - 969
EP  - 993
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
LA  - en
AB  - This study examines the investment decisions of 542 individual investors in Türkiye’s Southeastern Anatolia Region (Diyarbakır, Bingöl, Mardin) from a behavioral finance perspective. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire, tailored to the region’s low literacy and limited digital access. The relationships between demographic factors (gender, marital status, age, occupation, income, education) and behavioral finance tendencies were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA. No significant relationships were found for gender, marital status, age, occupation, or income, but education level significantly influenced behavioral finance tendencies (p=0.010), with high school graduates showing lower cognitive biases (e.g., overconfidence, loss aversion) than primary school graduates. Investors exhibited a conservative approach, favoring traditional instruments like gold (32.3%) and real estate (24.4%), reflecting cultural influences and risk aversion. These findings highlight education’s critical role in enhancing financial literacy and reducing biases in socio-economically disadvantaged regions, informing targeted financial education programs.
KW  - Behavioral Finance
KW  - Individual Investors
KW  - Cognitive Biases
KW  - Emotional Influences
KW  - Market Anomalies.
N2  - Bu çalışma, Türkiye’nin Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi’nde (Diyarbakır, Bingöl, Mardin) yaşayan 542 bireysel yatırımcının yatırım kararlarını davranışsal finans perspektifinden incelemektedir. Veriler, bölgenin düşük okuryazarlık düzeyi ve sınırlı dijital erişimine uygun olarak yüz yüze görüşmelerle yapılandırılmış bir anket yoluyla toplanmıştır. Demografik faktörler (cinsiyet, medeni durum, yaş, meslek, gelir, eğitim) ile davranışsal finans eğilimleri arasındaki ilişkiler t-testleri ve ANOVA ile analiz edilmiştir. Cinsiyet, medeni durum, yaş, meslek ve gelir ile davranışsal finans eğilimleri arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmamıştır. Ancak, eğitim düzeyi ile davranışsal finans eğilimleri arasında anlamlı bir ilişki ortaya çıkmıştır (p=0.010); post-hoc testler, lise mezunlarının ilkokul mezunlarına kıyasla aşırı güven ve kayıptan kaçınma gibi bilişsel önyargılara daha az eğilim gösterdiğini göstermiştir. Ayrıca, bölgedeki yatırımcıların muhafazakâr bir yaklaşım sergileyerek altın (%32,3) ve gayrimenkul (%24,4) gibi geleneksel araçları tercih ettiği, bu tercihin kültürel etkiler ve riskten kaçınma eğiliminden kaynaklandığı belirlenmiştir. Bu bulgular, sosyo-ekonomik olarak dezavantajlı bölgelerde finansal okuryazarlığın bilişsel önyargıları azaltmadaki kritik rolünü vurgular ve hedefe yönelik finansal eğitim programlarına yönelik içgörüler sunar.
CR  - Afriany, A., Putranti, L., Herdiany, H., & Tisya, V. (2022). Covid 19: Investment decisions of individual investor based on behavioral finance factors. Proceedings of the 1st UPY International Conference on Education and Social Science (UPINCESS 2022). Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-39-8_9
CR  - Anshu, P. (2024). Behavioral biases influencing individual investors decision making in bearish trend at nepse. Journal of Corporate Finance Management and Banking System, 4(2), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.55529/jcfmbs.42.11.24
CR  - Baker, M., & Wurgler, J. (2007). Investor sentiment in the stock market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(2), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.21.2.129
CR  - 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. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301556400
CR  - Chen, S. (2023). An empirical study of the impact of investor sentiment on stock returns from a behavioural finance perspective. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Bigdata Blockchain and Economy Management, ICBBEM 2023, May 19–21, 2023, Hangzhou, China. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.19-5-2023.2334284
CR  - Devadas, M., & Vijayakumar, D. (2019). Investment decisions, herd behaviour and retail investors. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 8(10), 3291–3294. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.j1210.0881019
CR  - Divanoğlu, S., & Bağcı, H. (2018). Determining the factors affecting individual investors’ behaviours. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 7(3), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.33844/ijol.2018.60407
CR  - Fama, E. F. (1970). Efficient capital markets: A review of theory and empirical work. The Journal of Finance, 25(2), 383–417. https://doi.org/10.2307/2325486
CR  - Fikriyah, T. (2023). Analysis of factors that influence investment decisions with financial literacy as a moderating variable. Indonesian Journal of Business Analytics, 3(4), 1363–1376. https://doi.org/10.55927/ijba.v3i4.5200
CR  - Herwiyanti, E., Suwito, G., & Astuti, T. (2023). Investment decisions in the capital market: Perceptions of Christian students. Journal of Economics Finance and Management Studies, 6(7), 3162–3170. https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v6-i7-49
CR  - Husnatarina, F., Arafah, M., Andiyan, A., Azmi, Z., & Suzana, S. (2022). The Influence of Investor Intrinsic Motivation on Islamic Stock Investment Decision Making. Proceedings of the International Conference on Social, Economics, Business, and Education (ICSEBE 2021). Doi : 10.2991/aebmr.k.220107.008
CR  - Jain, J., Walia, N., Kaur, M., & Singh, S. (2021). Behavioural biases affecting investors’ decision-making process: A scale development approach. Management Research Review, 45(8), 1079–1098. https://doi.org/10.1108/mrr-02-2021-0139
CR  - Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
CR  - Karaca, Y. (2015). Davranışsal Finans Yaklaşımı ve Bireysel Yatırımcı Davranışları Üzerine Ampirik Bir Uygulama .Gazi Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Ankara.
CR  - Kumari, A., Goyal, R., & Kumar, S. (2022). Review on behavioral factors and individual investors psychology towards investment decision making. ECS Transactions, 107(1), 8009–8023. https://doi.org/10.1149/10701.8009ecst
CR  - Kuzey, G. (2019). Bireysel yatırımcıların yatırım kararlarının davranışsal finans yönünden incelenmesi: Ankara ili örneği .Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
CR  - Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2011). Financial literacy around the world: An overview. Journal of Pension Economics & Finance, 10(4), 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747211000448
CR  - Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014). The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5–44. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.52.1.5
CR  - Metwally, A. (2023). The effect of overconfidence bias on investors decisions in the Egyptian stock market: The role of information acquisition. Alexandria University Journal of Administrative Sciences, 60(2), 47–85. https://doi.org/10.21608/acj.2023.294144
CR  - Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
CR  - Rauf, A., Khurshid, M., & Afzal, M. (2018). Impact of overconfidence and loss aversion biases on equity investor’s decision-making process and performance. Nice Research Journal, 11(1), 156–180. https://doi.org/10.51239/nrjss.v0i0.76
CR  - Sachdeva, M., Lehal, R., Gupta, S., & Garg, A. (2021). What make investors herd while investing in the Indian stock market? A hybrid approach. Review of Behavioral Finance, 15(1), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/rbf-04-2021-0070
CR  - Sapkota, M. (2023). Emotional biases and equity investment decision of individual investors. Journal of Business Management Review, 4(1), 036–049. https://doi.org/10.47153/jbmr41.5682023
CR  - Sapkota, M., & Chalise, D. (2023). Investors’ behavior and equity investment decision: An evidence from Nepal. Binus Business Review, 14(2), 209–221. https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v14i2.9575
CR  - Shah, S., Ahmad, M., & Mahmood, F. (2018). Heuristic biases in investment decision-making and perceived market efficiency; A survey at the Pakistan stock exchange. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 10(1), 85–110. https://doi.org/10.1108/qrfm-04-2017-0033
CR  - Shefrin, H. (2002). Beyond greed and fear: Understanding behavioral finance and the psychology of investing. Harvard Business School Press.
CR  - Shiller, R. J. (2000). Irrational exuberance. Princeton University Press.
CR  - Shiller, R. J. (2003). From efficient markets theory to behavioral finance. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1257/089533003321164967
CR  - Statman, M. (2008). What is behavioral finance? In Handbook of finance. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470404324.hof002009
CR  - Thaler, R. H. (1993). Advances in behavioral finance. Russell Sage Foundation.
CR  - Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122574
CR  - Zhang, Y. (2023). The impact of investors overconfidence bias on investment strategy based on behavioral finance. Advances in Economics Management and Political Sciences, 8(1), 114–119. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/8/20230292
CR  - Zhou, X. (2023). Theoretical discussion on individual investor behavior from a quantitative finance perspective: Possibilities for machine learning applications. Open Journal of Business and Management, 11(6), 2802–2810. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2023.116153
UR  - https://doi.org/10.25229/beta.1643860
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4627419
ER  -