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Sources & references

Where our concepts, findings and examples come from.

Regulatory & education

  • SEBI — investor education and studies on retail derivatives outcomes in India (which find a large majority of individual F&O traders lose money).
  • NSE India — market mechanics, contract specifications and investor-awareness material.
  • Zerodha Varsity — India-focused trading education, including trading-psychology modules.

Foundational theory

Our behavioural material draws on established literature. Prospect theory and loss aversion come from Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky ("Prospect Theory", 1979) and Kahneman's later work on System 1 / System 2 thinking; Richard Thaler's research established much of modern behavioural economics; Brad Barber and Terrance Odean's studies documented overconfidence and overtrading among individual investors; and Charles Duhigg popularised the cue–routine–reward habit loop. These are cited as literature, not as endorsements, and where we simplify a finding we say so. See our methodology.

Last updated 12 July 2026.