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Interoceptive ability predicts survival on a London trading floor

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posted on 2023-06-09, 03:48 authored by Narayanan Kandasamy, Sarah Garfinkel, Lionel Page, Ben Hardy, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley, Mark Gurnell, John M Coates
Interoception is the sensing of physiological signals originating inside the body, such as hunger, pain and heart rate. People with greater sensitivity to interoceptive signals, as measured by, for example, tests of heart beat detection, perform better in laboratory studies of risky decision-making. However, there has been little field work to determine if interoceptive sensitivity contributes to success in realworld, high-stakes risk taking. Here, we report on a study in which we quantified heartbeat detection skills in a group of financial traders working on a London trading floor. We found that traders are better able to perceive their own heartbeats than matched controls from the non-trading population. Moreover, the interoceptive ability of traders predicted their relative profitability, and strikingly, how long they survived in the financial markets. Our results suggest that signals from the body - the gut feelings of financial lore - contribute to success in the markets.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Scientific Reports

ISSN

2045-2322

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Volume

6

Page range

32986

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-10-31

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-10-31

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-10-31

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