Pragmatics and the market place: how griceian implicature affects investor decision making

Speranza

 

 

Pragmatics and the Marketplace: How Gricean Implicature Affects Investor Decision-Making

P. J. Forsberg. Princeton University

It is possible to build a theory of how Gricean Implicature has an impact on investor

decision-making.

 

Overactive security markets are known to violate the rational model of

stock valuation known as “price equals value.”

 

At present, two hypotheses exist as

explanations for the overactivity: overconfidence and overreaction.

 

 

But there is

support for a new hypothesis – that investors, when provided with information about the

marketplace, make the often-erroneous assumption that such information is precise,

relevant and requires action.

 

This new hypothesis

can have implications for future experiments in psychology, as well as for public

policy.