Emotional intelligence in the context of behavioral finance and investor behavior: A study on investors

This study aims to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence on investor behavior. The study utilizes an emotional intelligence scale and a decision-making styles scale. The results reveal significant relationships between emotional intelligence and decision-making styles with demographic factors such as marital status, age, and education level. The hypothesis "There is a significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence and its Sub-dimensions and marital status" was accepted based on the results of difference analyses (p<0.05). Similarly, the hypothesis "There is a significant relationship between Decision-Making Styles and its Sub-dimensions and marital status" was also accepted (p<0.05). The hypotheses "There is a significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence and its Sub-dimensions and age" and "There is a significant relationship between Decision-Making Styles and its Sub-dimensions and age" were accepted (p<0.05). Additionally, a significant relationship was found between education level and decision-making styles (p<0.05). Regression analyses highlight the effects of rational and intuitive decision-making styles on emotional intelligence. The rational decision-making style explains 40.8% of emotional intelligence, and this relationship is statistically significant (F=125.535, p<0.001, R²=0.408). The intuitive decision-making style also significantly impacts emotional intelligence by 25.5% (F=58.708, p<0.001, R²=0.255). The spontaneous decision-making style has a statistically significant effect on emotional intelligence by 7.8% (F=14.313, p=0.020, R²=0.078). Additionally, the avoiding and dependent decision-making styles were found to have statistically significant effects on emotional intelligence. The sub-dimensions of emotional intelligence, such as acceptance and self-awareness, were shown to have strong relationships with the rational decision-making style. For instance, the rational decision-making style explains 23% of the acceptance sub-dimension (F=54.554, p<0.001, R²=0.230) and 39.5% of the self-awareness sub-dimension (F=118.969, p<0.001, R²=0.395). Keywords: Behavioral Finance, Emotional Intelligence, Creative Behaviors, Investors