The psychology of the market is one that includes both the psychology of investing and the psychology of gambling. There are the compulsive attractions of gambling in the market. The undulating moods of the stock market, alternating between its bull phase of energy greediness and grandiosity, and the bear phase of timidity, anxiety, indecisiveness and self-doubt, reflect the manic behavior of the gambling addict.

Speculation differs from most gambling activities in that the beliefs of the participants affect the results. In certain circumstances speculators are capable of creating self-fulfilling prophecies. Success in speculation is ultimately dependent on finding someone else to buy your shares at a higher price than you paid for him or her. Every speculative bubble resembles a chain letter in that profits are provided by late entrants to the market. Everyone is attempting to anticipate the immediate intentions of his competitors. In such circumstances, paying attention to shifts in market psychology becomes essential.

市场的心态表现出投机与赌博兼而有之的两重性。市场有难以抗拒的赌博诱惑。股市的情绪在牛市和熊市之间交替波动，牛市充满了高涨的贪婪情绪，熊市则弥漫着胆怯、焦虑、犹豫不决和自我怀疑的情绪。股市心态的这种波动折射出赌徒的躁狂行为。投机活动与大多数赌博活动的不同之处在于，投机参与者的信念会影响投机结果。

在某些情况下，投机者能够创造出自我实现的预言。投机的成功归根到底取决于别人能否以比你买入时更高的价格买下你手中的股票。每个投机泡沫就好比一封连锁信，利润是由后来入市者提供的。每一个人都在预测竞争对手下_步的意图。在这种情况下，对市场心理变化的关注是至关重要的。