Thin-slice Trading

...continued from yesterday

Research on thin-slicing on the topic of racial prejudice has implications for trading profitably.

Published research evidence shows that people are subjected to societal conditioning into subtle and not-so subtle unconscious behaviors in race relations.

Try the Implicit Association Test (“IAT”) and see for yourself. It’s at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Did you surprise yourself? Were you more racist than you thought?

First, take the test on a “come as you are” basis for one round. Then re-take the test after priming yourself with exposure to positive information about different races. Expose yourself to “advertising” in which different races are portrayed in a positive manner. For example, to prime yourself with positive information about Afro-Americans, read the biography of Martin Luther King.

Research results demonstrate that it is possible to override and counter the effects of societal conditioning by priming yourself before taking the IAT.

Here’s the implications of this for profitable trading. Research data indicates that 90% of the people who attempt to trade lose all their money. That’s due to societal conditioning. Society portrays traders in a negative manner, thus making your “default settings” that of a losing trader.

What you need to do is override and counter the effects of societal conditioning by priming yourself every time before trading. Applying the knowledge about the IAT, you would prime yourself by reviewing your profitable trading plan before trading and by mentally reviewing how your trading is beneficial to society. Then your unconscious trading decisions would be more influenced by your own “advertising” than your prior society conditioning.

continued tomorrow ...

Copyright 2007 Raymond T. Lee. All rights reserved.
Leisurely e-Mini Futures Trading
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