The Concept of Expectation in Behavioral Finance Theory: A Bibliometric Analysis

Behavioral economics is a subfield of economics that reveals how individuals' economic decisions are influenced by cognitive, emotional, and psychological factors. In behavioral economics, individuals are not only seen as actors who interpret economic indicators and make rational decisions but they are also considered in terms of their emotions and motivations. Therefore, behavioral economics investigates how certain emotional and psychological motivations affect economic decisions. Behavioral finance theory, from the same perspective, examines the financial decisions individuals make within the context of psychological and emotional variables. In behavioral finance theory, the most important emotional determinant is the concept of "expectation." In this context, the study investigates how the concept of "expectation" is addressed in studies examining the field of behavioral finance theory using the bibliometric analysis method. This research examines databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar between the years 1985-2022, based on criteria such as the number of publications, citations, leading authors, countries, and institutions, aiming to reveal the evolution of the concept of expectation over time. In this regard, the study finds that the effects of the concept of expectation in behavioral finance theory have been examined more frequently since the 2000s. These studies primarily focus on risk perception and loss aversion behaviors.