Here is a personality test for traders. Be honest with yourself and answer yes or no to these 12 questions:
1. When something goes against you in the market, do you often find yourself venting your frustration?
2. Do you enjoy (or did you enjoy as a child) roller coasters or other exciting rides?
3. Do you often find yourself procrastinating?
4. Do you consider yourself moody - sometimes optimistic, sometimes pessimistic?
5. Do you generally prefer to go out and party with friends rather than stay home with a good book or a movie?
6. Do you often find yourself apologizing to others because you forgot to do something you were supposed to do?
7. Are you usually nervous, stressed, or stressed?
8. If you had the opportunity to choose at a buffet, would you prefer to try exotic foods you've never heard of before instead of familiar dishes?
9. When you have a task that needs to be done at home, do you tend to take a quick and sloppy approach, rather than a precise and painstaking approach?
10. After losing a deal, do you often feel guilty or frustrated with yourself?
11. Have you tried or regularly used two or more recreational stimulants (other than alcohol) in your life?
12. Are you often late for appointments or social plans you have made?
What type of trader are you?
If you answered yes to most or all of questions 1, 4, 7, and 10 on the Traders' Personality Test, you may be classified as "neurotic." These people tend to be angry, anxious, and depressed.
If you answered yes to most or all of questions 2, 5, 8, and 11, you score high on Openness and Experience. Therefore, you are prone to risk and excitement.
If you answered yes to most or all of questions 3, 6, 9, and 12, you score low on Conscientiousness, which measures the degree of duty, responsibility, and dependability.
Steinberger claims that the ideal personality type for a trend follower (the rule-based quantitative trader) is one that is low in neuroticism, low in openness, and high in conscientiousness. He or she will stick to rules and regulations (conscientiousness), will not trade impulsively and emotionally (neuroticism), and will trade for profits, not motivation (openness).
