Behavioral Insights from a Three-Day Trading Simulation: Emotions, Financial Strategy Adaptation, and Competition

This study examines how emotions, competition, and time pressure shape financial decision-making within a three-day trading simulation. Eight management students traded virtual portfolios of CAC40 stocks under conditions designed to replicate market stress, including real-time rankings and a performance-based incentive. A qualitative methodology was employed, using semi-structured post-simulation interviews analyzed through Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic framework. Findings showed a wide range of emotional responses. Fear emerged as the most significant emotion, linked to financial losses and to the constant visibility of rankings. Anger and frustration were associated with unexpected losses and market stagnation, while happiness and pride were reported following successful trades. These results confirm prior research on emotion-specific influences and extend it by highlighting how competition and social comparison intensify emotional responses. Rankings acted as a behavioral driver: participants at the bottom engaged in riskier strategies, whereas those at the top became more conservative, consistent with social comparison theory. The short time horizon favored short-term strategies such as scalping, reflecting the dominance of "System 1" reasoning under pressure. The study contributes to behavioral finance by providing qualitative evidence of how emotions and competition interact in trading. It also raises methodological questions regarding the paradox of virtual simulations, which reduce emotional intensity and encourage excessive risk-taking. Our research holds theoretical and practical value for financial education by emphasizing the importance of preparing future traders for the emotional realities of market decision-making.