Have you seen the new issue of Scientific American MIND? ... If you haven't, pick it up! While it looks to be about the male brain vs. the female brain (and who can't use more of that info anyway?) there is actually a fair amount of info that can be applied to trading psychology. Or better yet, to improving your trading psychology.

The first – instead of just saying “emotions are required for a decision” – explore what that means. Maybe we will find that the emotional states or emotional data will be easier to categorize than the behavioral! Think “emotions as information”.

You know that fear that "they" will take your money ...or the other one, you might "miss" the trade of the century... well if you are male, these feelings appear to be relatively hard wired in what feels like "one upmanship"... or I guess what many people call the male ego. I admit from the female seat it is a little hard to fully comprehend but when I told Bill about it last night he looked at me like I just announced a great new discovery - that the sun rises in the east! (In other words he just laughed!) So....

Given that we are not advocating hormone therapy or gender alteration surgeries for most of our readers, we will stick with the #1) Be aware... be very very aware ... but more importantly #2) Realize that the urge to get the money back ... well maybe it is more about clubbing the moron who just speared your coyote before you got there ... and in fact, has essentially nothing to do with what the market might do next.

I am just sayin'.....

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