Living, fast and slow: Is life history orientation associated with risk-related personality traits, risk attitudes, criminal outcomes, and gambling?

Abstract

Life history theory is an influential framework for understanding how organisms allocate time and energy towards important life functions. Life history orientations range on a continuum from “fast” to “slow”. Broadly, fast life histories characterize individuals who tend to engage in impulsive and present-oriented decision-making and behavior, whereas slow life histories characterize individuals who tend to engage in more deliberative, future-oriented decision-making and behavior. We examined whether individual differences in life history orientations are associated with risk-associated personality traits (impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and self-control), risk attitudes in multiple domains, and key risky behavioral outcomes (general gambling involvement, problem gambling tendencies, and criminality). Results indicate that relatively faster life history orientations were broadly associated with higher levels of risk-related traits, attitudes, and outcomes. Exploratory regression analyses indicated that life history orientation explained variance in criminal outcomes even when controlling for risk-relevant individual differences. Together, these findings suggest that life history orientation is broadly associated with a general “taste for risk” and risk-taking behavior.