Higher Risk-taking Research Articles

Correlates of the Dark Tetrad

This study explored demographic, ideological, self-rating and personality traits correlates of the Dark Tetrad (DT4) which measures Narcissism (Special), Machiavellianism (Crafty), Psychopathy (Wild), and Sadism (Mean) traits. In total, 447 adults completed three tests: a bright-side, work-related, personality test (HPTI: High Performance Type Indicator), a dark-side test (Short Dark Tetrad) and a number of self-ratings. Correlations and regressions showed that all four dark traits were associated with low Adjustment (Neuroticism), but also with high Risk-Taking and Competitiveness (low Agreeableness). The various measures accounted for a third of the variance in explaining the Mean (Sadistic) score, and 40 % for Special (Narcissism). Trait Competitiveness was most closely associated with all four dark traits.

IMPACTS OF RISK PREFERENCE AND SOCIAL INSURANCE ON HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL MARKET PARTICIPATION IN CHINA: ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL RESIDENTS?

This letter examines the impact of risk preference and social insurance on household financial market participation and diversification using the 2017 and 2019 China Household Finance Survey. A multi-value treatment model is used to address the selection bias between risk preference and household financial investment, considering the moderation role of social insurance in between. Overall, our results show that high-risk takers are more likely to participate in the financial market and diversify their portfolios than low risk takers. Focusing on rural and urban differentials, we find marked differences in the impacts of risk preference and social insurance on household financial investment. Having social insurance may widen the difference in investment decisions between high- and low-risk takers in urban areas; the latter group tends not to participate in or diversify when socially insured. In contrast, having social insurance encourages low- and intermediate-risk preferred rural households to participate in the financial market and diversify their financial portfolios. Our work highlights the different consequences of social insurance on investment incentives of the rural and urban households. Whilst the obvious benefits of having social insurance for rural households via risk-sharing, there is undesired consequence of incentive distortion of urban households.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AGE DIVERSITY, PROFITABILITY, AND BANK RISK-TAKING

Introduction: The age of the board of commissioners is one of the personal characteristics of commissioners that can affect the level of bank profitability and risk-taking. This study examines the effect of the board of commissioners' age diversity on bank profitability and risk-taking. Methods: The author uses the multiple linear regression method using a total of 223 observations in banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2008-2017. Results: The dependent variables used in this study are Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and bank risk investment, with the independent variable being the age diversity of the board of commissioners. The results of this study indicate that the age diversity of the board of commissioners has a significant negative effect on the level of bank profitability, as measured by ROA and ROE. However, the age diversity of the board of commissioners has a significant positive effect on bank risk-taking. Conclusion and suggestion: The selection of the Board of Commissioners needs to pay attention to the ages of the members of the Board of Commissioners as a whole because the results of this study indicate that high age diversity in the scope of commissioners can worsen bank profitability and higher risk-taking.

Long-term sublethal exposure to polyethylene and tire wear particles: Effects on risk-taking behaviour in invasive and native fish

Anthropogenic polymeric particles pollute even the most remote ecosystems and may compromise organisms' behaviour and movement skills. It is expected that invasive species cope better with pollutants than native species (i.e., pollution resistance hypothesis). In this study, invasive gibel carp (Carassius gibelio) and native crucian carp (Carassius carassius) were used as model organisms. Specimens were fed daily with food pellets (1 % body weight) added with 0.1 % polyethylene (PE), tire wear particles (TWPs) and control. Their behavioural parameters were compared before and after 14 and 60 days of exposure. Additionally, we evaluated burst swimming capacity after 60 days of exposure to the treatments. The fishes exposed to the PE and TWPs treatments showed significant trends toward increased boldness scores and, in the PE treatment, higher utilization of the open field, and both behavioural changes are associated with higher risk-taking. Invasive gibel carp had substantially better swimming performance than crucian carp, but the expected trend in relation to the treatments was not found. Fish exposed to sublethal doses of PE and TWPs showed signs of behavioural changes after two months of exposure that may affect risk-taking behaviour, which might impact species interactions with predators.

Intersection of Perceived COVID-19 Risk, Preparedness, and Preventive Health Behaviors: Latent Class Segmentation Analysis.

COVID-19 risk perception is a factor that influences the pandemic spread. Understanding the potential behavioral responses to COVID-19, including preparedness and adoption of preventive measures, can inform interventions to curtail its spread. We assessed self-perceived and latent class analysis (LCA)-based risks of COVID-19 and their associations with preparedness, misconception, information gap, and preventive practices among residents of a densely populated city in Nigeria. We used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted among residents (N=140) of Onitsha, Nigeria, in March 2020, before the government-mandated lockdown. Using an iterative expectation-maximization algorithm, we applied LCA to systematically segment participants into the most likely distinct risk clusters. Furthermore, we used bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models to determine the associations among knowledge, attitude, preventive practice, perceived preparedness, misconception, COVID-19 information gap, and self-perceived and LCA-based COVID-19 risks. Most participants (85/140, 60.7%) had good knowledge and did not perceive themselves as at risk of contracting COVID-19. Three-quarters of the participants (102/137, 74.6%; P<.001) experienced COVID-19-related information gaps, while 62.9% (88/140; P=.04) of the participants had some misconceptions about the disease. Conversely, most participants (93/140, 66.4%; P<.001) indicated that they were prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the participants (94/138, 68.1%; P<.001) self-perceived that they were not at risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to 31.9% (44/138) who professed to be at risk of contracting COVID-19. Using the LCA, we identified 3 distinct risk clusters (P<.001), namely, prudent or low-risk takers, skeptics or high-risk takers, and carefree or very high-risk takers with prevalence rates (probabilities of cluster membership that represent the prevalence rate [γc]) of 47.5% (95% CI 40%-55%), 16.2% (95% CI 11.4%-20.9%), and 36.4% (95% CI 28.8%-43.9%), respectively. We recorded a significantly negative agreement between self-perceived risk and LCA-based segmentation of COVID-19 risk (κ=-0.218, SD 0.067; P=.01). Knowledge, attitude, and perceived need for COVID-19 information were significant predictors of COVID-19 preventive practices among the Onitsha city residents. The clustering patterns highlight the impact of modifiable risk behaviors on COVID-19 preventive practices, which can provide strong empirical support for health prevention policies. Consequently, clusters with individuals at high risk of contracting COVID-19 would benefit from multicomponent interventions delivered in diverse settings to improve the population-based response to the pandemic.

NEXUS BETWEEN INVESTOR’S RISK BEARING CAPACITY AND INVESTORS' CHOICE OF PORTFOLIOS

An attempt is made through this study to identify the risk bearing capacity of retail investors and to evaluate how it affects the portfolio choices of those investors. In addition to examining the variations in investment avenues that investors choose to include in their portfolios due to their risk-bearing capacity, this study aims to investigate the influence of various demographic characteristics on risk bearing capacity. The current study was conducted among individual investors in Kerala by conducting a survey among 120 individual investors in Kerala using a structured questionnaire. The results of this study showed that an investors ability to take on risk depends on their gender, line of work, and monthly income. Further it was found that investors who are ready to take high risk invests more in real estate and shares compared to other risk categories. Investors who are moderate to high risk takers made their investment in mutual funds. All other investors made their investments in safe avenues like bank deposits, postal savings, provident fund, insurance, etc. KEYWORDS: Investors, investments, portfolio, risk, risk-bearing capacity

Online or not online: the impact of business owner’s risk preference on the adoption of e-business

AbstractThe significant growth of internet users has driven businesses to develop their capacity in e-commerce and meet the increasing demand for e-consumption, e-services, and e-business. To gain the benefits of e-business, firms may choose to extend or transit their offline-operated businesses to online or hybrid modes. Opportunities are accompanied by risks in this process. Therefore, it is important to understand how business owners’ financial risk preferences affect their choice of business operation models, namely, online and offline operations. Using data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2017 and 2019, this study examined the impacts of business owners’ risk preferences on e-business adoption, considering social insurance as a moderator on the relationship between risk effect and online business operation. In addition, we used heterogeneity examination to test for regional differences between rural and urban areas. Our results show that, compared to high-risk takers, low-risk takers are less likely to choose online or hybrid businesses; and having social insurance reduces the effect of risk preference on adopting e-business. This finding indicates social insurance may provide financial security to business owners with low-risk preferences and makes them more likely to adopt online business, whilst it may distort adoption incentives for high- and medium-risk groups. Results of the heterogeneity examination suggest a discrepancy in the risk preference effect on the adoption of e-business between the rural and urban areas: the impact of risk preference is found to be significantly higher on businesses in the rural area than those in the urban area.

The role of emotional sensitivity to missed opportunity and grey matter volume of thalamus in risk-taking behaviour.

The ability to make suitable risky decision is necessary for individuals' survival and development. However, individuals vary in risk preference. The current study, adopting a decision task, aimed to explore the emotional sensitivity to missed opportunity and grey matter volume (GMV) of thalamus in high risk-takers by using voxel-based morphology analysis. In the task, eight boxes should be opened successively. Seven boxes contained coins and one box contained the devil to zero coins. Once stopped, collected and missed (missed opportunity) coins were presented. Participants were divided into high- and low risk-takers according to their risk-taking behaviour in the decision task. We found that high risk-takers showed stronger emotional sensitivity to missed opportunity and smaller GMV of thalamus than low risk-takers. In addition, the GMV of thalamus partially mediated the effect of emotional sensitivity to missed opportunity on risk-taking behaviour among all participants. Overall, the current study highlights the role of emotional sensitivity to missed opportunity and the GMV of thalamus in risk-taking behaviour, which helps us understand the possible reason for the variation among individuals in risk preference.

Preference for Male Risk Takers Varies with Relationship Context and Health Status but not COVID Risk

Risk taking is more commonly shown by males than females and has a signalling function, serving to advertise one’s intrinsic quality to prospective mates. Previous research has established that male risk takers are judged as more attractive for short-term flings than long-term relationships, but the environmental and socioeconomic context surrounding female preferences for male risk takers has been overlooked. Using a survey instrument, we examined female preferences for male risk takers across 1304 females from 47 countries. We found preferences for physical risk takers to be more pronounced in females with a bisexual orientation and females who scored high on risk proneness. Self-reported health was positively associated with preferences for high risk takers as short-term mates, but the effect was moderated by country-level health, i.e. the association was stronger in countries with poorer health. The security provided by better health and access to health care may allow females to capitalise on the genetic quality afforded by selecting a risk-prone male whilst concurrently buffering the potential costs associated with the risk taker’s lower paternal investment. The risk of contracting COVID-19 did not predict avoidance of risk takers, perhaps because this environmental cue is too novel to have moulded our behavioural preferences.

Gender and Age Differences in the Relationship between Sensation-Seeking and Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior among Adolescents

The study examined gender and age differences in the relationship between sensation seeking and sexual risk behaviors among secondary school students in Kenya. The study was conducted in Kisumu Municipality. Kisumu was chosen as it is one of the leading regions in HIV prevalence, estimated at 15%. The HIV prevalence was assumed to indicate a positive relationship between sensation seeking and high sexual risk-taking behavior. A sample size of 357 adolescents (44% males and 56% females) was drawn using a stratified sampling method from a population of 10,278 secondary school students. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, while the qualitative data was summarized thematically. The study's findings indicated that about half the adolescents were highly sensational seekers predisposing them to take risks. There also existed significant gender differences in the prevalence of sensation-seeking and sexual risk-taking behavior, with the male adolescents being higher risk-takers than their female counterparts. Similarities in the prevalence of sensation-seeking were also reported. However, this varied across ages and different gender. Female adolescents' sensation-seeking increased earlier in life than their male counterparts.Further, the study indicated gender differences in the adolescents' tendency to indulge in sexually risky behaviors due to their sensation-seeking.

Detailed analysis of risk-taking in association with impulsivity and aggression in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder type I

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the associations of risk-taking, aggression, and impulsivity as well as risk adjustment in bipolar I patients (BD-I). 50 BD-I patients and age- and education-matched healthy controls (HC) were compared by using a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task (m-BART) , Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11(BIS-11), and Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). BD-I performed worse than HC in terms of risk-taking measures. However, the risk adjustment pattern in the BD-I group was similar to HC. BIS-11 scores were positively correlated with risk-taking after unsuccessful trials. The BPAQ scores were positively correlated with the number of exploded balloons and the maximum number of pumps while negatively correlated with reaction time. This study supported risk-taking as a robust feature of BD-I. These results may reflect that higher risk-taking may be due to impulsivity and also aggression may be associated with undesired outcomes of risk-taking. However, decision-making/adjustment abilities seem to be preserved.

Assessment of workers’ safety behavior in the extractive industries: The case of underground coal mining in Pakistan.

Underground coal mining is a high-risk industry for fatal and non-fatal injuries. As a result of their constant exposure to a hazardous environment with a low safety climate, coal miners in Pakistan are at danger of serious injuries. This study explores the association between coal miners’ safety behaviors and injuries which was found a gap in Pakistani literature. The primary data were collected from 350 randomly selected respondents from 4 study sites using a multistage sampling procedure. The association of safety behavioral elements (Risk-taking, Emotional instability, Job Environment, Job dissatisfaction) and chosen demographic variables (age, experience, work nature) with injuries was investigated using t-test and logistic regression. T-Test finds most underground coal mine workers high risk-takers, emotionally less stable, and less satisfied with their job. Regression finds a significant association between demographic and behavioral variables and injuries with emotional instability as the most influential. Study recommends incorporating cutting-edge technology like AI, virtual reality, and simulation to improve coal mine workers' understanding and awareness about their health and safety.

Stock pledge restrictions and investment efficiency

This paper examines the effect of stock pledge restriction (SPR) on the firm's investment efficiency. By introducing a plausibly exogenous stock pledge regulation, we find that SPR promotes the improvement of investment efficiency, which is mainly reflected in the reduction of overinvestment. Furthermore, the positive association between SPR and investment efficiency is more particularly pronounced for non-state-owned firms, firms with weak financing constraints and firms with high risk-taking. These findings provide new evidence on the importance of capital constraints in corporate efficiency. Overall, this study provides new insight about the real effect of SPR on investment efficiency, which may be of interest to regulators who are concerned with the transaction risk prevention and the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Decision-Making in Childhood Predicts Prodromal Eating Pathology in Adolescence.

Differences in decision-making under conditions of risk have been observed cross-sectionally in clinical groups of people with eating disorders but have never been studied longitudinally or in large cohorts. We investigated whether responses on the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT), measured in the Millennium Cohort Study in childhood, would predict prodromal eating pathology in adolescence. Regression models were built to explore relationships between CGT variables at age 11 years and prodromal eating pathology (body dissatisfaction, intention to lose weight, dietary restriction, significant under/overweight, and excessive exercise) at 14 years. In 11,303 boys and girls, those with better quality decision-making were 34% less likely to show an intention to lose weight (b = -0.40, odds ratio [OR] = 0.66, p < 0.05) and 34% less likely to be overweight (b = -0.41, relative risk ratio [RRR] = 0.66, p < 0.05). Those with higher risk-taking were 58% more likely to report dietary restriction (b = 0.45, OR = 1.58, p < 0.05) and 46% more likely to report excessive exercise (b = 0.38, OR = 1.46, p < 0.05). In the complete-cases sample, higher risk-adjustment scores were associated with a 47% increased risk of underweight (b = 0.39, RRR = 1.47, p < 0.05), and better quality of decision-making was associated with a 46% lower risk of overweight (b = -0.60, RRR = 0.54, p < 0.05). Disadvantageous decision-making in childhood may predict prodromal eating pathology in adolescence and might represent a prevention target.

The effect of risk perception and other psychological factors on mobile phone use while crossing the street among pedestrians

Pedestrians may be the most vulnerable group among road users, and mobile phone use while crossing the street is ubiquitous worldwide in this information era. However, previous studies have found that such distracting behaviors may increase the risk of injury and death. The present study primarily aimed to explore the effect of reinforcement sensitivity theory components (i.e., Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), Behavioral Approach System (BAS)), risk perception, attitudes towards red light running, and fear of missing out (FoMO) on mobile phone use while crossing the street among pedestrians. Risk perception was measured in three ways (i.e., assessing the probability of a negative outcome (RP-Pro), judging the severity of the consequence (RP-Se), and evaluating the general riskiness of the behavior (RP-Ri)). An online questionnaire survey was conducted, and only valid responses (N = 425) were used for subsequent data analyses. The results indicated significant differences in the responses across the risk perception questions with different focuses. Participants who reported engaging in more distracted street-crossing (i.e., high-risk takers) perceived a significantly lower risk, and this difference did not depend on the focus of risk perception. Three path analysis models with differential risk perception constructs (RP-Pro, RP-Se, and RP-Ri) were developed to examine the relationship between risk perception and distracted street-crossing. The results suggest that the relationship between these two variables does not depend on the focus of the risk perception questions. Moreover, FoMO was a predictor of mobile phone use while crossing the street, while attitudes had both direct and indirect effects on behavior. BIS and BAS had the lowest total effect on mobile phone use among pedestrians. In particular, a direct association between BAS and distracted street-crossing was found only in the model in which risk perception was measured by judging the severity of crashes caused by mobile phone use distraction. This study may be meaningful for understanding the associations between psychological factors and mobile phone use among pedestrians. The implications of the findings for the development of safety interventions are discussed in this study.

Decision-Making Under Risk and Uncertainty by Substance Abusers and Healthy Controls.

Cognitive impairment characterized by high impulsivity and risk-taking has been correlated with substance-related disorders. However, it is unclear if the decision-making process is well known upon consideration of factors such as uncertainty environments, risk, and time manipulation in different decision-making procedures. The main objective of this study was to identify behavioral differences between substance abusers and healthy control participants in a behavioral test battery, including (1) two uncertainty decision-making tasks, the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT, trial 1–40); (2) three risk-taking tasks, the Columbia Card Task Hot version (CCT-hot), Columbia Card Task Cold version (CCT-cold), and the IGT (trial 41–100); and (3) an impulsivity task, the Delay Discounting task (DD). The second objective looked at how the six behavioral tests correlate. We worked with a sample of 54 adult participants (Substance abusers: n = 28; Healthy controls: n = 26). An anonymous survey website was created to execute all the cognitive tasks. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the groups in any of the tasks. However, the results showed an upward trend of impulsive (i.e., steeply discounting curve) and risk-taking behaviors (i.e., a low learning curve in IGT) in substance abuse participants. The factor analysis results showed four different main factors: (1) risk-taking task in the IGT (trial 40–100), (2) uncertainty task in BART, (3) impulsivity in DD, IGT (trial 1–40), and (4) deliberate process in the Columbia card task (cold and hot). We conclude that factors such as the uncertainty tasks in the BART and the first block of IGT trials, the risk cues in the CCT tasks (i.e., number of loss, number of gains, and loss cards), and the time to delivery in the DD task, can affect the complex decision-making process in both clinical and healthy groups.

Corporate Risk Tolerance and Acceptability towards Sustainable Energy Transition

The omnipresence of risk prevails in almost every aspect of human life. Individuals and societal factors are pivotal in the decision-making process to judge acceptability and tolerability of risk. Tolerability of risk (ToR) is characterized by dynamism pinned in the process of decision making that helps to gauge the society and individual’s risk. The energy transition implies switching the energy system from fossil fuels or any traditional mechanism to modern renewable sources that are sustainable. The energy transition is paramount important in the current global energy system to attain sustainable goals for organizations. This study used the positivism research paradigm to address the research questions. The quantitative approach helps to examine the cause-and-effect relationship. It also helps to collect systematic information to meet the objectives of the research. A total sample of 300 was selected for the data collection from renewable energy companies. The study used positivism research philosophy applied deductive approach. The data is analyzed through PLS-SEM. It is summarized that the scale of risk acceptability and tolerability in Pakistan is moderate which encourages companies to work progressively and increases sociocultural activities to make society a partner of this new shift in energy transition that will ultimately increase the level of risk acceptability. Nevertheless, as a society, people are neither high-risk takers nor risk avoiders due to income constraints, macroeconomic uncertainty, and political instability.

Assessment of risk-taking behavior, leadership effectiveness, intelligence, ability to handle stress in college-going students, and effect of self-control on these parameters

Background: Human intelligence is the intellectual prowess of humans, which is marked by high cognition, motivation, and self-awareness. Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to achieve common goals. Risk-taking is conscious or nonconscious controlled behavior with perceived uncertainty about its outcome. The present study was designed to assess the risk-taking ability of an individual that is required to be a good leader along with intelligence, ability to handle stress, and the effect of self-control on these parameters. Materials and Methods: The study was performed in two phases. In the first phase, the subjects were asked to fill risk-taking questionnaire, and their leadership effectiveness and intelligence levels were assessed. Their basal level of stress parameters and Stroop test were assessed. A stressor was introduced and stress parameters, Stroop test were again assessed. In the second phase of the study, the subjects were asked to practice moderate-intensity physical activity for 15 days and its effect was seen on all the above parameters. Results: Statistically significant and nonsignificant differences were obtained on comparison between baseline and poststress values; and also between baseline and postexercise values in all the three groups namely high-risk takers, moderate risk-takers and nonrisk takers at different level of significance. Comparison between first phase and second phase of the study yielded significant and non-significant results. Conclusion: Self-control improves leadership effectiveness. Exercise helps reduce stress response that aids in better decision-making quality required for being a leader.

Reinforcement learning and risk preference in equity linked notes markets

Individuals who follow a reinforcement learning heuristic put too much weight on recent failures or successes in placing their next bets. Using a large sample of equity-linked notes (ELNs) investments in South Korea, we find evidence showing a negative effect of reinforcement learning on future investments that lasts longer than one investment period. After losses, investors are less likely to repurchase equity-linked notes and spend less on their repurchases. This behavior also results in reinforcement learners underperforming rational agents. The difference in returns received by reinforcement and non-reinforcement groups is economically large at approximately 10.7%. However, these negative effects of reinforcement learning are mitigated by investors’ higher risk attitudes. We find that more risk-seeking investors are less likely to shun ELNs after undesirable prior returns and that this effect persists for more than one period. The underperformance of reinforcement learners is also reduced with high risk-taking. Overall, our findings highlight how combining different psychological traits can diagnose and improve biases in investor decision-making.

The association between risky decision making and cocaine conditioned place preference is moderated by sex

BackgroundExcessive risk taking is a characteristic trait of several psychiatric conditions, including substance use disorders. High risk-taking (HiR) rats self-administer more cocaine compared to low risk-taking (LoR) rats. However, research has not determined if risk taking is associated with enhanced cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP). MethodsMale and female Sprague Dawley rats (n = 48 each sex) were first tested in the risky decision task (RDT), in which a response on one lever resulted in safe delivery of one food pellet, and a response on a different lever resulted in delivery of two pellets and probabilistic delivery of foot shock. Following RDT training, rats were tested for cocaine CPP. The first session was a pretest that measured rats’ preference for three compartments that provided different visual and tactile cues. Rats then learned to associate one compartment with cocaine (either 10.0 mg/kg or 20.0 mg/kg; i.p.) and one compartment with saline (1.0 ml/kg; i.p.) across eight conditioning sessions. Finally, rats explored all three compartments in a drug-free state. ResultsSex significantly moderated the association between risky decision making and cocaine CPP. While increased risk aversion was somewhat positively associated with cocaine CPP in males, increased risk taking was positively correlated with cocaine CPP in females. ConclusionsThese results highlight the moderating role of sex on the relationship between risky decision making and cocaine reward.