A Possible Adjusting Procedure for Studying Outcomes of Risk-Taking

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the role of consequences in the maintenance and termination of risk-taking behavior. In 1987 Ladouceur, Mayrand, and Tourigny proposed a quantitative measure of risk-taking based on roulette playing, but this metric did not include the outcome of that risk. Therefore, their original equation may be adjusted to incorporate a concurrent analysis of the consequences of risk-taking to understand better individual differences with respect to risk-taking behavior. An experiment with six subjects, 3 experienced and 3 inexperienced, who played roulette was used to evaluate the accuracy of the equation's predictions. Replication with a much larger sample is required to substantiate the suggestion that this adjustment would be more accurate than the original equation in predicting future risk-taking.