The differences in behavioral finance biases based on college students' cognitive reflection: Example of Ankara

This study aimed to examine whether there were differences between the cognitive reflection levels of university students and behavioral biases such as basic ratio neglect, overconfidence, mental accounting, and exponential growth bias. In addition, it also aimed to examine if cognitive reflection levels and behavioral biases of university students differed according to their demographic characteristics. This descriptive and cross-sectional quantitative research was conducted in a relational screening model for this purpose. The study sample consisted of 388 participants selected through a simple random sampling method among students at universities in Ankara province. The research collected primary data using an online questionnaire that included questions about cognitive reflection and behavioral biases such as basic ratio neglect, overconfidence, mental accounting, and exponential growth bias. SPSS v26 software was utilized for data analysis in the study. Chi-square test, t-test, and ANOVA analysis were employed for testing the research hypotheses. As a result of the investigation, it was determined that intuitive participants with low cognitive reflection tended to exhibit more base ratio neglect bias and exponential growth bias compared to analytical participants. On the other hand, it was determined that overconfidence bias and mental accounting bias did not differ significantly according to the cognitive reflection levels of the participants. In addition, it was observed that cognitive reflection and behavioral biases did not differ significantly according to the demographic characteristics of the participants.