title: For better or for worse: Social influences on risk-taking.
abstract: This study investigated changes in risk-taking propensity on a behavioral decision-making task as a function of varying social conditions with peers. In contrast to the effects of direct peer influence (pro-risk and anti-risk messages by peers), we included a socially ambiguous context (neutral messages by peers) and a no-peer control (participants alone) as comparison conditions. Using a counterbalanced mixed factorial design, college students (N = 187) completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task-Youth (BART-Y) twice during two consecutive sessions, including once alone and once with a confederate; the control group completed two sessions of the task alone. The findings showed that, in general, direct pro-risk messages led to the most robust and consistent changes in risk-taking. The findings are discussed in terms of the multidimensional and multidirectional nature of peer influence during the college years.
authors.affiliation: a La Sierra University.
authors.forename: Shelly Sadek
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: b University of California Riverside.
authors.forename: Misaki N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Natsuaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012309:Risk-Taking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BART; decision-making; peers; risk-taking