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Propensity for Risk Taking Across the Life Span and Around the Globe.

Author information

Affiliations

  • 1. Department of Psychology, University of Basel
      Authors
    • Mata R 1
    (1 author)
  • 2. Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
      Authors
    • Josef AK 2
    • Hertwig R 2
    (2 authors)

ORCIDs linked to this article

Psychological Science, 07 Jan 2016, 27(2):231-243
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615617811 PMID: 26744068 

Abstract 

Past empirical work suggests that aging is associated with decreases in risk taking. But are such effects universal? Life-history theory suggests that the link between age and risk taking is a function of specific reproductive strategies that can be more or less risky depending on the ecology. We assessed variation in the age-risk curve using World Values Survey data from 77 countries (N = 147,118). The results suggest that propensity for risk taking tends to decline across the life span in the vast majority of countries. In addition, there is systematic variation among countries: Countries in which hardship (e.g., high infant mortality) is higher are characterized by higher levels of risk taking and flatter age-risk curves. These findings suggest that hardship may function as a cue to guide life-history strategies. Age-risk relations thus cannot be understood without reference to the demands and affordances of the environment.

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Read article at publisher's site: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615617811

Read article for free, from open access legal sources, via Unpaywall: https://pure.mpg.de/pubman/item/item_2248998_5/component/file_2249283/id10000588.pdfUnpaywall

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