A few days ago, BTC rose, and many people started to feel FOMO again, but this weekend is not that great! I will continue writing this series to give everyone a cold shower.
Trader series, cognitive enhancement and learning methodology series (7)
FOMO psychology#BTC
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in the trading field is often simplified to the psychological state of 'fearing missed market opportunities.'
However, this superficial interpretation obscures the more complex psychological mechanisms behind it, particularly the powerful yet often overlooked social emotional factors.
When we delve into the psychological structure of FOMO, we can find that it contains at least two levels: the surface level is worry about potential future profits, but the deeper level is a jealousy driven by social comparison.
It is this deep-seated jealousy, rather than simple fear of missing out, that truly leads to traders' 'distorted' behavior.
Jealousy is particularly evident in market trading. When we see others making significant profits on an asset, our reaction goes beyond rational regret for missing an investment opportunity and turns into a complex social emotional response.
We are not only worried about losing money, but also questioning our own market insight, feeling a relative decline in social status, and instinctively feeling jealousy towards others' 'unearned' success.
This kind of jealousy is far more destructive than simple fear of missing out. It systematically distorts our risk assessment ability, causing us to underestimate obvious danger signals; it weakens our critical thinking, leading us to selectively receive information that supports entry; more dangerously, it may provoke retaliatory behavior, prompting us to adopt more aggressive strategies to try to surpass those who have already succeeded, rather than making judgments based on the market itself.
This explains why even in a market environment on the brink of bursting, experienced traders still violate their own trading principles.
At this point, what drives them is not rational analysis of market opportunities, but the deep-seated jealousy that arises after seeing others profit.
Trading platforms and social media are well aware of this, amplifying this social comparison psychology through various designs. The 'show-off culture' in trading communities, the profit rankings on trading platforms, and the flaunting of wealth on social media are not just about information sharing; they are also powerful catalysts for triggering jealousy emotions.
True trading wisdom lies in recognizing and managing this deep-rooted jealousy.
When we realize that our trading decisions may be driven by jealousy, we need to pause and reflect: are we analyzing the market, or competing with others' success? Is it an objective assessment of market opportunities, or are we disturbed by news of others' profits?
The market itself does not have any emotions based on our participation or not; however, seeing others profit from it can trigger strong emotional reactions.
Understanding and transcending this jealousy is one of the keys to distinguishing successful traders from failures.
