title: Stability and change in risk-taking propensity across the adult life span.
abstract: Can risk-taking propensity be thought of as a trait that captures individual differences across domains, measures, and time? Studying stability in risk-taking propensities across the life span can help to answer such questions by uncovering parallel, or divergent, trajectories across domains and measures. We contribute to this effort by using data from respondents aged 18 to 85 in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and by examining (a) differential stability, (b) mean-level differences, and (c) individual-level changes in self-reported general (N = 44,076) and domain-specific (N = 11,903) risk-taking propensities across adulthood. In addition, we investigate (d) the correspondence between cross-sectional trajectories of self-report and behavioral measures of social (trust game; N = 646) and nonsocial (monetary gamble; N = 433) risk taking. The results suggest that risk-taking propensity can be understood as a trait with moderate stability. Results show reliable mean-level differences across the life span, with risk-taking propensities typically decreasing with age, although significant variation emerges across domains and individuals. Interestingly, the mean-level trajectory for behavioral measures of social and nonsocial risk taking was similar to those obtained from self-reported risk, despite small correlations between task behavior and self-reports. Individual-level analyses suggest a link between changes in risk-taking propensities both across domains and in relation to changes in some of the Big Five personality traits. Overall, these results raise important questions concerning the role of common processes or events that shape the life span development of risk-taking across domains as well as other major personality facets. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
authors.forename: Anika K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Josef
authors.affiliation: German Institute for Economic Research.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.affiliation: Motivated Cognition and Aging Brain Lab, Yale University.
authors.forename: Gregory R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Samanez-Larkin
authors.affiliation: German Institute for Economic Research.
authors.forename: Gert G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hertwig
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences, University of Basel.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mata
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012309:Risk-Taking; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2011 Oct;101(4):862-82
references.pmid: 21859226
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012 Oct 5;367(1603):2762-72
references.pmid: 22927575
references.citation: Cognition. 1994 Apr-Jun;50(1-3):7-15
references.pmid: 8039375
references.citation: Dev Sci. 2012 Jan;15(1):150-63
references.pmid: 22251301
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Mar 15;102(11):4209-14
references.pmid: 15753321
references.citation: Perspect Psychol Sci. 2007 Mar;2(1):1-23
references.pmid: 26151915
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2014 Sep;140(5):1303-31
references.pmid: 24956122
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2008 Sep;23(3):558-66
references.pmid: 18808245
references.citation: Psychol Methods. 2002 Jun;7(2):147-77
references.pmid: 12090408
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2015 Sep;30(3):688-98
references.pmid: 26098168
references.citation: Behav Res Methods. 2011 Jun;43(2):548-67
references.pmid: 21424189
references.citation: Science. 2010 Jul 30;329(5991):532
references.pmid: 20671181
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2013 Dec;24(12):2530-40
references.pmid: 24142813
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Oct;1235:18-29
references.pmid: 22023565
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2012 Dec;27(4):867-74
references.pmid: 22775362
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2011 Jan;137(1):97-130
references.pmid: 21219058
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 1999 Apr;22(2):203-14; discussion 214-52
references.pmid: 11301523
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2009 May;35(3):709-30
references.pmid: 19379045
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 1990 Mar;107(2):238-46
references.pmid: 2320703
references.citation: Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2021 Aug 1;30(4):327-334
references.pmid: 34366582
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jan 6;112(1):65-9
references.pmid: 25535381
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 May 22;109(21):8026-31
references.pmid: 22566634
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2011 Jan;15(1):11-9
references.pmid: 21130018
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1997 Apr;52(4):366-80
references.pmid: 9109347
references.citation: Dev Rev. 2008 Mar;28(1):78-106
references.pmid: 18509515
references.citation: Multivariate Behav Res. 1990 Apr 1;25(2):173-80
references.pmid: 26794479
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Feb 15;108(7):2693-8
references.pmid: 21262822
references.citation: Judgm Decis Mak. 2012 Nov;7(6):716-727
references.pmid: 24307919
references.citation: J Youth Adolesc. 2015 Jan;44(1):1-17
references.pmid: 24682958
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2009 Sep;45(5):1353-63
references.pmid: 19702397
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 Nov;69(6):870-80
references.pmid: 24149517
references.citation: Cognition. 2015 Sep;142:60-80
references.pmid: 26022497
references.citation: Int J Behav Dev. 2015 Jan 1;39(1):87-96
references.pmid: 26478643
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010 Apr;98(4):659-67
references.pmid: 20307136
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2015 May 6;35(18):7226-38
references.pmid: 25948271
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2014 Apr 25;18(3):280-307
references.pmid: 24769798
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2006 Apr;17(4):300-4
references.pmid: 16623686
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2009 Nov;135(6):943-73
references.pmid: 19883143
references.citation: J Dev Econ. 2015 Nov;117:151-170
references.pmid: 30078930
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2011 Oct;101(4):847-61
references.pmid: 21707197
references.citation: Soc Psychol Personal Sci. 2015 Sep;6(7):814-822
references.pmid: 27114753
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Appl. 2002 Jun;8(2):75-84
references.pmid: 12075692
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2015 Mar;70(2):202-14
references.pmid: 24056582
references.citation: Behav Genet. 2012 May;42(3):378-92
references.pmid: 22089391
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2015 Jan;141(1):48-84
references.pmid: 25365761
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Apr;34(5):660-9
references.pmid: 19715723
references.citation: Q J Finance. 2012;2(4):
references.pmid: 25544881
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2002 Jul;57(4):P367-76
references.pmid: 12084787
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2000 Jan;126(1):3-25
references.pmid: 10668348
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2016 Feb;27(2):231-43
references.pmid: 26744068
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015 Jun;56:88-99
references.pmid: 25813123
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2009 Dec;13(12):517-23
references.pmid: 19836292
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2006 Jan;132(1):1-25
references.pmid: 16435954
references.citation: Twin Res Hum Genet. 2009 Aug;12(4):366-71
references.pmid: 19653837
references.citation: J Pers. 2000 Dec;68(6):999-1029
references.pmid: 11130742
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2006 Jan;132(1):26-8
references.pmid: 16435955
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2014 Mar 04;5:158
references.pmid: 24624100
references.citation: Sci Rep. 2013;3:2486
references.pmid: 23989235
references.citation: Addict Behav. 2014 Nov;39(11):1580-1588
references.pmid: 24566195
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1999 Mar;54(3):165-81
references.pmid: 10199217
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2005;56:453-84
references.pmid: 15709943
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 2010 Feb;33(1):1-19; discussion 19-40
references.pmid: 20377929
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2014 Mar;140(2):374-408
references.pmid: 24099400
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 1990 Sep;5(3):335-47
references.pmid: 2242238
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012 May;67(3):289-98
references.pmid: 21926401
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2011;62:23-48
references.pmid: 20822437