Trading on self-insight: how do professional financial traders understand their own decision-making processes?

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether professional financial traders predominantly perceive their decision-making processes as rational or intuitive. Although recent scholarship has increasingly acknowledged the intuitive nature of financial market decisions, it was hypothesized that traders may persist in identifying their decisions as analytical, potentially due to entrenched industry conventions. This study further aims to assess whether traders attribute greater positive value to rational decision-making relative to intuitive decisions. Additionally, this study explores the extent to which traders’ perceptions are informed by the culturally pervasive construct of hegemonic masculinity, wherein financial markets are symbolically associated with gendered norms of aggression, competitiveness and rationality. Design/methodology/approach Trader perception of decision-making was explored through interviews with 14 professional financial traders working in the City of London. Interviews were analyzed through a content analysis and a discourse analysis. Findings Traders view their decision-making as significantly more rational than intuitive. Rational decisions were viewed significantly more positively than intuition. Traders may “valorize” rationality because of the construction of hegemonic masculinity in their accounts. Originality/value This research is the first investigation into financial traders’ perceptions of both rationality and intuition within the context of decision-making. The findings reveal a tendency among traders to characterize their decisions as rational, even when presented with opportunities to acknowledge the significance of intuitive processes. One explanation for this preference considered here is the cultural association between rationality and hegemonic masculinity. These insights advance our understanding of the enduring appeal of rationality in traders’ perception of their decision-making, highlighting the persistence of these beliefs despite potential misalignment with actual decision-making practices.