Figure 1.

Asset trading task overview. (A) Participants were forced to purchase an asset for $50 (purchase point marked by a gray circle). The asset price then followed a random walk, always increasing or decreasing in increments of $5 with equal probability. At each period, participants chose to keep or sell the asset (first panel). After the participant made a choice, the choice was highlighted for 3 seconds (second panel). The next period outcome was then shown and the participant could immediately make a decision (third panel). An infinite horizon was implemented, where there was a 5% probability of the trial ending (and asset being force-sold). Therefore, participants were able to keep the asset as many periods as they liked, with the caveat that each time they kept the asset, there was a 5% chance of the trial ending. (B) and (C) show data from subjects without a disposition effect (left; average integral of 10.4 $*periods) and with a disposition effect (right; average integral of −46.8 $*periods). Each data point represents the period in which an asset was sold or force-sold (assets that were held until the trial ended). Trials in which the overall integral of asset price through time was positive are shown in blue, negative in red, and zero in green. Forty trials are shown for each participant.