Trading psychology is an important aspect of trading stocks, Forex, or virtually any other security. In fact, it is no less significant for conducting a successful trade than, say, trading skills and knowledge or current market conditions.
Trading psychology is associated with the traders’ mindset and how they are managing their emotions, thought processes, and trading decisions. According to the trading psychology definition, traders have better chances of getting large payouts, or at least not losing too many funds, when they stay rational at all times and not yield to greed or fears.
Even though psychological stimuli are subjective and different for individual traders, there are still some universal influences that determine how people conduct their trades. These stimuli include:
- Fear
- Anger
- Impatience
- Greed
When a trader is afraid, they may feel compelled to liquidate all their trading funds and not open new positions, which can make them miss the real opportunity. When they are angry after a loss, they tend to make rash decisions and open new trades when the market is clearly against their position.
As for impatience and greed, traders overcome by these passions usually want to get payouts immediately or/and at large amounts. They don’t want to wait and make tiny steps towards success; they want to achieve it at once, which can often lead to their demise.
In order to overcome fear and anger, and manage impatience and greed, traders need to practice their psychological responses to various situations, just as they practice their actual trading skills. This way, they will not be overwhelmed when the market behaves in/against their favor.