scholarly journals Impaired dissociation of advantageous and disadvantageous risky choices in adolescents: the role of experience-based learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke Jepma ◽  
Jessica V. Schaaf ◽  
Ingmar Visser ◽  
Hilde M. Huizenga
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Late Adolescents ◽  
Risky Choices ◽  
Experience Based Learning ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors ◽  
Choice Policy

Abstract Adolescence is characterized by a surge in maladaptive risk-taking behaviors, but whether and how this relates to developmental changes in experience-based learning is largely unknown. In this preregistered study, we addressed this issue using a novel task that allowed us to separate the learning-driven optimization of risky choice behavior over time from overall risk-taking tendencies. Adolescents (12-17 years old) learned to dissociate advantageous from disadvantageous risky choices less well than adults (20-35 years old), and this impairment was stronger in early than mid-late adolescents. Computational modeling revealed that adolescents’ suboptimal performance was largely due to an inefficiency in core learning and choice processes. Specifically, adolescents used a simpler, suboptimal, expectation-updating process and a more stochastic choice policy. In addition, the modeling results suggested that adolescents, but not adults, overvalued the highest rewards. Finally, an exploratory latent-mixture model analysis indicated that a substantial proportion of the participants in each age group did not engage in experience-based learning but used a gambler’s fallacy strategy, stressing the importance of analyzing individual differences. Our results help understand why adolescents tend to make more, and more persistent, maladaptive risky decisions than adults when the values of these decisions have to be learned from experience.

The Role of Parental Monitoring in Mediating the Link Between Adolescent ADHD Symptoms and Risk-Taking Behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1141-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yehuda Pollak ◽  
Bella Poni ◽  
Naama Gershy ◽  
Adi Aran
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Parental Monitoring ◽  
Parental Knowledge ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
Risk Taking Behavior ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors ◽  
Youth With Adhd

Objective: ADHD in adolescents and low level of parental monitoring have been associated with increased risk-taking behavior. The present study examined whether parental knowledge of the child’s whereabouts mediates the correlations between adolescent ADHD symptoms and risk-taking behavior. Method: Ninety-two adolescents and their parents completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of parents’ monitoring, engagement in risk-taking behaviors, and ADHD symptoms. Results: Greater engagement in risk-taking behavior correlated with higher levels of ADHD symptoms and decreased parental monitoring. Mediation analysis revealed both direct effect of ADHD symptoms on risk-taking behavior and an indirect effect mediated by level of parental knowledge. Conclusion: These findings suggest that parental knowledge is negatively affected by the presence of ADHD symptoms, and may in turn lead to risk-taking behavior. The findings emphasize the need to target parenting and in particular parental knowledge of the child’s whereabouts to reduce risk-taking behaviors among youth with ADHD.

Impulsivity, risk taking, and cortisol reactivity as a function of psychosocial stress and personality in adolescents

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4pt1) ◽  
pp. 1093-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sima Finy ◽  
Konrad Bresin ◽  
Donna L. Korol ◽  
Edelyn Verona
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Stress Condition ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Negative Emotionality ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Low Constraint ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors

AbstractAlthough adolescence is characterized by hormonal changes and increased disinhibited behaviors, explanations for these developmental changes that include personality and environmental factors have not been fully elucidated. We examined the interactions between psychosocial stress and the traits of negative emotionality and constraint on impulsive and risk-taking behaviors as well as salivary cortisol reactivity in 88 adolescents. In terms of behavioral outcomes, analyses revealed that negative emotionality and constraint were protective of impulsivity and risk taking, respectively, for adolescents in the no-stress condition; personality did not relate to either behavior in the stress condition. Low-constraint adolescents in the stress condition engaged in less risk taking than low-constraint adolescents in the no-stress condition, whereas there was no effect of stress group for high-constraint adolescents. In terms of cortisol reactivity, analyses revealed that low-constraint adolescents in the stress condition exhibited greater cortisol reactivity compared to high-constraint adolescents, which suggests that low-constraint adolescents mobilize greater resources (e.g., increased cognitive control, heightened attention to threat) in stressful situations relative to nonstressful ones. These results demonstrate that two facets of disinhibition and cortisol reactivity are differentially affected by psychosocial stress and personality (and their interactions) in adolescents.

ADHD-associated risk-taking: The role of benefit and risk perceptions

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S533-S533
Author(s):  
Y. Pollak ◽  
H. Aloni ◽  
R. Shoham
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Benefit Perception ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors ◽  
Benefit And Risk

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with increased engagement in risk-taking behaviors. The present study aimed to further our knowledge regarding the extent and the reasons for the association between ADHD symptoms and risk-taking, using a theory-driven behavioral economy theory. The Domain Specific Risk-Taking scale was used, on which 244 adults rated the likelihood of engagement in a range of risky behaviors, across five real life domains, as well as the magnitude of perceived benefit and risk they ascribed to these behaviors. Level of ADHD symptoms was positively correlated with engagement in risky behaviors and benefit perception, but not with risk perception. Mediation analysis confirmed that benefit perception, but not risk perception, mediated the association between ADHD symptoms and engagement in risk-taking behaviors (Fig. 1). These findings emphasize the role of benefit perception in facilitating risk-taking by people with ADHD symptoms.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Trust Building via Risk Taking: A Cross-Societal Experiment

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen S. Cook ◽  
Toshio Yamagishi ◽  
Coye Cheshire ◽  
Robin Cooper ◽  
Masafumi Matsuda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trust Building ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Trust Relation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors ◽  
Better Than

The role of risk taking in building trust relations has largely been overlooked in the burgeoning literature on trust in the social sciences; yet it is central to understanding how trust develops. We argue that a series of risk-taking behaviors is indispensable to building a trust relation. We conducted experiments in Japan and the United States to examine the independent and cross-cultural effects of risk taking on trust building. The results of these experiments indicate that the American participants took more risks than did the Japanese, supporting the general claim that Americans are inclined toward risk taking and trust building. Even so, the Americans were no better than the Japanese at improving the level of cooperation. The cumulative results of these experiments imply that risk taking is a critical element in trust building for Americans, but less so for the Japanese. Our results show clearly that it is important to distinguish trusting behavior from cooperation and to measure them separately if we are to study trust and trust building in relation to social cooperation.

scholarly journals Predator-driven natural selection on risk-taking behavior in anole lizards

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 360 (6392) ◽  
pp. 1017-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oriol Lapiedra ◽  
Thomas W. Schoener ◽  
Manuel Leal ◽  
Jonathan B. Losos ◽  
Jason J. Kolbe
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Exploratory Behavior ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Anolis Sagrei ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors

Biologists have long debated the role of behavior in evolution, yet understanding of its role as a driver of adaptation is hampered by the scarcity of experimental studies of natural selection on behavior in nature. After showing that individualAnolis sagreilizards vary consistently in risk-taking behaviors, we experimentally established populations on eight small islands either with or withoutLeiocephalus carinatus, a major ground predator. We found that selection predictably favors different risk-taking behaviors under different treatments: Exploratory behavior is favored in the absence of predators, whereas avoidance of the ground is favored in their presence. On predator islands, selection on behavior is stronger than selection on morphology, whereas the opposite holds on islands without predators. Our field experiment demonstrates that selection can shape behavioral traits, paving the way toward adaptation to varying environmental contexts.

Risky-Choice Behavior: A Life-Span Analysis

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Holliday
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Choice Situation ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Safe Alternative ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Risky Option

The purpose of the present study was to systematically test the hypothesis that older people adopt risk-avoiding strategies when faced with risky-choice situations. Ninety-six adults, representing four age cohorts, filled out a risk-taking questionnaire consisting of twelve situations demanding a choice between a safe and a risky option. One-half of the choices involved potential losses, the other half involved potential gains. The results indicated that older adults choose no more safe alternatives than do younger adults. Additionally, for all age cohorts, risk avoiding was more evident when choices were between risky and certain gains than when choices were between risky and certain losses. This pattern of responding suggests that older adults do not necessarily adopt a general strategy of avoiding risky options when a safe alternative is available. Instead, risk avoiding, for all age cohorts, appears to be influenced by the parameters of the choice situation.

scholarly journals Motivating Risky Choices Increases Risk Taking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ennio Bilancini ◽  
Leonardo Boncinelli ◽  
Lorenzo Spadoni
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Probability Distribution ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Risky Choices ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We study the impact of the mode of cognition on risk taking. In an online experiment we ask participants to make a simple decision involving risk. In the control group no manipulation is made, while in the treatment group we exogenously manipulate the mode of cognition by requiring subjects to write down a text that motivates their risky choice before any action is actually taken. Such motivation treatment is meant to induce more reflection upon the action to be taken. Our results show an effect of the motivation treatment on risk taking, suggesting that higher reflection makes subjects more prone to risk taking. The effect is stronger if we consider only subjects who imperfectly understand the probability distribution implied by the simple choice task. Based on our experimental findings, we suggest that reflection and comprehension might be substitutes when individuals make decisions involving risk.

scholarly journals Predicting Risk-Taking Behaviors Based on the Role of Perceived Social Support Components, Emotional Expression and Brain- Behavioral Systems in Addicts

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-297
Author(s):  
Esmaeil Sadri Damirchi ◽  
◽  
Pezhman Honarmand Ghojebegloo ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Basir Amir ◽  
Behzad Gholizade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Substance Dependence ◽  
Behavioral Activation ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Behavioral Systems ◽  
Substance Dependent ◽  
Risk Taking Behaviors

Aims The prevalence of risk-taking behaviors is a severe health threat. According to rapid social changes, it has recently been considered by health organizations, law enforcement, and social policymakers. The present study aimed to predict risk-taking behaviors based on the role of perceived social support components, emotional expression, and brain-behavioral systems in substance-dependent patients. Methods & Materials This was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population of the study included all substance-dependent patients referring to substance dependence treatment centers in Ardabil City, Iran, in 2018. In total, 113 substance-dependent patients were selected by convenience sampling method. The study instruments included Rajaee and shafieechr('39')s Risk-Taking Behaviors Questionnaire, Zimetchr('39')s Multiple Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), King, and Emmonschr('39')s Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire (EEQ), and Carver and Whitechr('39')s Brain-Behavioral Systems Questionnaire (BIS/BAS). The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and simultaneous-entry multiple regression analysis in SPSS. Findings The achieved results suggested a significant negative correlation between perceived social support from family, friends, and others, with the risk-taking behaviors of substance-dependent patients (P<0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between negative emotional expression and the risk-taking behaviors of substance-dependent patients among emotional expressiveness components (P<0.01). Moreover, among the components of brain-behavioral systems, there was a significant positive correlation between behavioral activation system and risk-taking behaviors (P<0.01). Additionally, the regression analysis results revealed that approximately 49% of the total variance of risk-taking behaviors of patients with substance dependence was predicted based on perceived social support components, emotional expression, and brain-behavioral systems (P<0.001). Conclusion In general, perceived social support from family and friends, negative emotional expression, and behavioral activation system can predict risk-taking behaviors in substance-dependent patients.

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