|  NOV 1983

The Psychology of the Decision Bee by JESSE H. THOMPSON

The Psychology of the Decision Bee by JESSE H. THOMPSON A round the market ""hives"" buzz the forever listless market observers, the ""bees"". The hedgers, scalpers, brokers, analysts, traders, speculators, you and I. Within the general category of these ""bees"", there are two subclasses, the participants and the non-participants. some non-participant bees are temporarily so; they do not currently have a position, short or long, in the markets. Then there are the permanent non participants; those who never take positions in the market but are content to divine and impact the direction and psychology of the markets as a business or livelihood within itself (some analysts, brokers, newsletter writers, for example.) Non-participant bees are continually forming opinions as to the direction of price. These impressions are either intuitively derived or derived from a particular method of analysis. Once an opinion is formed, the temporary non-participant is itchingly drawn to implement that decision and become a participant bee. He watches the market closely and compares his opinion accordingly. If he sees that his opinion or feel is wrong then this bee may go back to divining his charts for the time being. If the markets are moving in the direction he foresaw, then the impulse to become a participant bee becomes almost irresistible.

by Jesse H. Thompson