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1. Effects of acetaminophen on risk taking

   https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa108  

   Keaveney, Alexis; Peters, Ellen; Way, Baldwin (July 2020, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Acetaminophen, an analgesic and antipyretic available over-the-counter and used in over 600 medicines, is one of the most consumed drugs in the USA. Recent research has suggested that acetaminophen’s effects extend to the blunting of negative as well as positive affect. Because affect is a determinant of risk perception and risk taking, we tested the hypothesis that acute acetaminophen consumption (1000 mg) could influence these important judgments and decisions. In three double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, healthy young adults completed a laboratory measure of risk taking (Balloon Analog Risk Task) and in Studies 1 and 2 completed self-report measures of risk perception. Across all studies (total n = 545), acetaminophen increased risk-taking behavior. On the more affectively stimulating risk perception measure used in Study 2, acetaminophen reduced self-reported perceived risk and this reduction statistically mediated increased risk-taking behavior. These results indicate that acetaminophen can increase risk taking, which may be due to reductions in risk perceptions, particularly those that are highly affect laden. 

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2. Reward Design in Risk-Taking Contests

   https://doi.org/10.1137/21M1397386  

   Nutz, Marcel; Zhang, Yuchong (March 2022, SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics)
3. Morality, Risk-Taking and Psychopathic Tendencies: An Empirical Study

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.834734  

   Cacace, Sam; Simons-Rudolph, Joseph; Dubljević, Veljko (March 2022, Frontiers in Psychology)

   Research in empirical moral psychology has consistently found negative correlations between morality and both risk-taking, as well as psychopathic tendencies. However, prior research did not sufficiently explore intervening or moderating factors. Additionally, prior measures of moral preference (e.g., sacrificial dilemmas) have a pronounced lack of ecological validity. This study seeks to address these two gaps in the literature. First, this study used Preference for Precepts Implied in Moral Theories (PPIMT), which offers a novel, more nuanced and ecologically valid measure of moral judgment. Second, the current study examined if risk taking moderates the relationships between psychopathic tendencies and moral judgment. Results indicated that models which incorporated risk-taking as a moderator between psychopathic tendencies and moral judgment were a better fit to the data than those that incorporated psychopathic tendencies and risk-taking as exogenous variables, suggesting that the association between psychopathic tendencies and moral judgment is influenced by level of risk-taking. Therefore, future research investigating linkages between psychopathic tendencies and moral precepts may do well to incorporate risk-taking and risky behaviors to further strengthen the understanding of moral judgment in these individuals. 

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4. The Association between Risk Perception and the Risk-Taking Behaviors of Construction Workers

   https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784481288.042  

   Dao, Bac; Hasanzadeh, Sogand; Esmaeili, Behzad (March 2018, Construction Research Congress 2018)

   The majority of human-factor models in construction safety assume that risk-taking behaviors, failure to perceive hazards, or misinterpreting the associated risks of hazards are the main contributing factors in accident occurrences. However, the findings for the link between risk-taking behaviors and risk perception are inconsistent. To address this knowledge gap, the current study focuses on measuring the association between risk perception and the risk-taking behaviors of construction workers. To achieve this objective, 27 undergraduate students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with at least 1 year of experience in the construction industry were recruited to participate in an experiment. To measure risk perception, the subjects were asked to assess the risk—in terms of likelihood and severity—associated with various scenario statements related to fall hazards. Subsequently, subjects performed the balloon analogue risk task (BART), a computerized decision-making simulation, to test the subjects’ risk-taking behaviors. The results of a correlational analysis showed that there is a significant negative association between an individual’s risk perception of fall hazards and his/her risk-taking behaviors. Additionally, differences in the risk-taking behaviors of subjects evaluated against their risk-perception scores were examined using a permutation simulation analysis. The results showed that there is a moderately significant difference in the risk-taking behaviors of subjects with low and high fall-risk perception. The research findings provide empirical evidence that people with lower risk perception tend to engage in more risk-taking behaviors. Furthermore, this study is one of the first attempts at using BART in the assessment of risk taking in construction safety and paves the way for a better understanding the human factors that contribute to construction accidents. 

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5. Don’t Risk It. Older Adults Perceive Fewer Future Opportunities and Avoid Social Risk Taking

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415019900564  

   Delaney, Rebecca K.; Strough, JoNell; Shook, Natalie J.; Ford, Cameron G.; Lemaster, Philip (March 2021, The International Journal of Aging and Human Development)

   null (Ed.)

   Drawing from life-span psychology, we conducted two studies to test perceptions of time left in the future as an underlying mechanism for age differences in self-reported social risk taking. Study 1 included 120 younger (25–35 years) and 119 older (60–91 years) community-dwelling adults. Study 2 included 439 participants (18–85 years) mostly recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. In both studies, older age was associated with rating a lower likelihood of social risk taking (e.g., speaking about an unpopular issue) and perceiving the future as holding fewer future opportunities and being more limited. Perceptions of fewer future opportunities with aging statistically mediated age-related declines in social risk taking. Findings highlight motivational factors as key for understanding age differences in social risk taking. Implications of age differences in social risk taking on factors related to well-being, such as social support and strain, are discussed. 

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