[bemmu]

Latest NPR Planet Money podcast episode was about bubbles, they interviewed a university professor that was running experiments on his students. They had a fake stock market with only one stock on it that would have a random dividend of either $0 or $2, so $1 on average. Students were given money to invest in the stock market. Running this experiment apparently over multiple courses, even in this small market there would be bubbles.

He brought up one such bubble in a lecture in front of the students, explaining to them that their investment made no sense considering the average dividend. He expected this explanation to crush the bubble since now everyone was aware of it. What happened instead was students going "wow, a bubble, I must get in on it!" and the stock just going even higher.

[smokeyj]

People don't treat monopoly money like real money. Stunning. Next the professor should see how risk adverse these students are with their own tuition dollars. Suddenly these kids aren't the big rollers they were with imaginary risk. Quit looking at numbers, follow the risk. Numbers are relative to risk. Consider the influence of monetary policy on risk. Does a cheaper dollar make a frugal investor? Hardly.

[julianz]

Or you could listen to the podcast and find out that it was real money, but why let facts get in the way?

[seunosewa]

Link?

[radicaldreamer]

I don't think people treat money they see on a screen or on a receipt like cash either. There's a mental disconnect.

[georgemcbay]

Especially for college students... Which is why they are so heavily marketed to by credit card companies (not to mention the entire high tuition/student loan situation).