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Our study contributes to the literature on choice shifts in group decision-making by analyzing how the level of risk-taking within a group is influenced by its gender composition. In particular, we investigate experimentally whether group composition affects how preferences ‘shift’ when comparing individual and group choices. Consistent with hypotheses derived from previous literature, we show that male-dominated groups shift toward riskier decisions in a way that is not explained by any simple preference aggregation mechanism. We discuss potential channels for the observed pattern of choice shifts.
A comparison of ‘intention’ and its role in criminal law is made extremely difficult by the overlaps and imperfections in terminology, both in common law and German law. There are also significant differences in how courts, academics and laypeople understand and apply the terms. The authors therefore concentrate on the substantive questions behind the legal terms: what makes ‘intentional’ offending more dangerous and more blameworthy than non-intentional causation of similar harm? What types or degrees of intention can be differentiated because they imply more or less intense subjective violations of legal rules? In particular, is there a normative difference between actors who wish to achieve a certain result and those who do not but are reasonably certain that they will bring about this result? How should the law deal with actors who know that they engage in risky behaviour but are unsure about its effect?
This chapter explores consequences of the traditional and culturally responsive classroom management strategies reviewed in Chapter 11 from an action science perspective in depth. In the action science literature, action strategies that individuals use from the Model I perspective seek to: (1) design and manage the environment so that the actor is in control, (2) own and control tasks, (3) unilaterally protect themselves, and (4) unilaterally protect others from being hurt (i.e., upset, offended). Individual action strategies used from the Model II perspective seek to: (a) design situations in which they can experience high personal causation, (b) jointly control tasks, (c) understand protection of self as a joint, growth-oriented enterprise, and (d) bilaterally protect others. In this chapter, I substantiate these associations in the data by exploring how traditional and culturally responsive classroom management strategies are behavioral expressions of Model I and Model II values respectively – with corresponding consequences for CUNY instructors’ learning effectively across student–teacher cultural differences.
This chapter summarizes evidence from Chapters 2 through 5 that organizational conditions in urban schools facilitate both single- and double-loop learning amongst K-12 teachers about their students’ lived experiences as racial and cultural minorities in American society. It builds the argument that even where urban teachers may take the initiative to engage in double-loop learning, prevailing cultural and organizational norms in urban schools make doing so nearly impossible.
Risk aversion—the preference for certainty over potential gains or losses—is reduced when using a foreign language. We investigated 2 mechanisms for this foreign language effect using incentivized gambles with verbal probability expressions: (1) that people perceive prospects of winning as larger when a decision is made in their foreign language; (2) that people experience reduced negative affect toward risk in a foreign language. In Experiment 1, N = 229 proficient Polish–English bilinguals, using ungridded slider, assigned numerical values to 29 verbal probability expressions in both languages. We found small bidirectional differences in 13 of them, leading us to reject the first mechanism. In Experiment 2, N = 281 participants gambled in incentivized neutral expected value lotteries using a sample of the verbal probability expressions from Experiment 1. Participants gambled in either their native or foreign language, where participants could either accept around 50% of gambles (debiased to risk-neutral) or more than 50% (biased to risk-seeking). Surprisingly, we observed no significant risk aversion in either language condition, with participants’ gambling behavior close to 50% in both cases. The finding that participants showed no risk aversion in native language condition meant we could not test whether foreign language reduces risk aversion. However, this result did show that using a foreign language does not promote excessive risk-taking. Our findings suggest that using verbal probability expressions does not bias participants’ responses, and may inherently reduce risk aversion.
How do risk attitudes change after experiencing gains or losses? For the case of losses, Imas (Am Econ Rev 106:2086–2109, 2016) shows that subsequent risk-taking behavior depends on whether these losses have been realized or not. After a realized loss, individuals’ risk-taking decreases, whereas it increases after an unrealized (paper) loss. He refers to this asymmetry as the realization effect. In this study, we derive theoretical predictions for risk-taking after paper and realized gains, and for investment opportunities with different skewness. We experimentally test these predictions and, at the same time, replicate Imas’ original study. Independent of a prior gain or loss, we show that subsequent risk-taking is higher when outcomes remain unrealized. However, we find no evidence of a realization effect for non-positively skewed lotteries. While the first result suggests that the effect is more general, the second result reveals its boundary conditions.
We exploit testing data to gain better understanding on framing effects on decision-making and performance under risk. In a randomized field experiment, we modified the framing of scoring rules for penalized multiple-choice tests. In penalized multiple-choice tests, right answers are typically framed as gains while wrong answers are framed as losses (Mixed-framing). In the Loss-framing proposed, both non-responses and wrong answers are presented in a loss domain. According to our theoretical model, we expect the change in the framing to decrease students’ non-response and to increase students’ performance. Under the Loss-framing, students’ non-response reduces by a 18%-20%. However, it fails to increase students’ scores. Indeed, our results support the possibility of impaired performance in the Loss-framing.
Creativity may also be viewed as a capacity of the human mind (i.e., an ability to generate ideas that are novel, unexpected, and valuable). Creativity indicates a constellation of traits: Creative persons are self-confident, independent, and unopposed to risk-taking. They have good intuition and display flexible, original thinking; moreover, they dare to differ, challenge routines, and – if necessary – bend a few rules. Finally, creative people can think flexibly. Creative people generate ideas that, at the time, are viewed as novel and perhaps ridiculous, as well as “unreasonable.” Some authors perceive the origins of creativity as a “wonder,” happening in both historical and mundane contexts. The best examples of creativity come from children, as they are free from the pressures of achievement or competition. Children simply play, addressing challenges and innovating. Creativity can be characterized as the mutual reinforcement of two distinct mental models, namely, convergent and divergent thinking, the latter being usually a spontaneous, free-flowing process, where thoughts appear in a “non-logical” manner. Some examples of divergent thinking are herein presented.
There is no one clear path to scholarly success. A productive scholar might be raised by academic parents, or not; might have previously been an educator, or not; might have had a postdoctoral experience, or not; might be in a writing group, or not; might work extreme hours, or not; might be married to another academic, or not … Still, productive scholars share common means for finding their pathways to scholarly success, including curiosity, risk-taking, discovering one’s element, accumulating advantages, offsetting structural disadvantages, and keeping scholarly activities on one’s mind. Curiosity and risk taking help move scholars away from tired, well-worn topics toward the investigation of innovative and important topics, where they discover their element, carve out a unique research agenda, and make a name for themselves. Budding scholars seek advantages, such as research-rich institutions and influential mentors, that multiply and accumulate, smoothing the pathway to scholarly success. Some productive scholars face potentially debilitating structural barriers that could block their path but find ways to rise above the barriers and succeed regardless. Pathways to success are long, and productive scholars stay the course by keeping their scholarly work foremost on their minds.
In this chapter, we focus on a loose-parts, school-based intervention to promote playfulness. The intervention is known as the Sydney Playground Project (SPP). The SPP was developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the authors of this chapter. Key principles in the creation of the SPP were to find ways to enable children to engage in more-frequent, better-quality play, and make the intervention accessible to all children, families and educators (Bundy et al., 2011). There is also now a particular focus on children with disabilities (Bundy et al., 2015; Stillianesis et al., 2022). Goals for children with disabilities include development in areas promoted through play, yet a range of barriers often prevents this group from full participation.
The Romans had to cope with uncertainty and, in part, did so through a shared set of knowledge and practices, which this chapter calls a risk culture. These ways of coping contained a lower level of individuality, consciousness or reflexivity than Beck’s modern Risk Society. There was also no simple divide between lay and expert knowledge. The Roman world exposed its inhabitants to a variety of risks but the accumulated experience of coping with these represented a mutual way of mitigating the dangers.
When faced with a choice under incomplete knowledge, people can turn to the practical option of actively collecting information and ultimately deciding from experience. Here we review the dynamic interplay between perceiving and acting that arises during these decisions: What the person sees and experiences depends on how the person acts, and how the person acts depends on what the person has seen and experienced. We also review how this interaction and choice can be crucial to understanding risk-taking and how it can help advance our understanding of human competence. Finally, we contend that a truly successful model of how people make decisions from experience will capture this dynamic interplay.
A basic tenet of science is an acceptance of uncertainty. This may seem to be a glaringly obvious point, but there must be a degree of uncertainty prior to achieving any type of real progress, even in the medical sciences. If we knew everything in advance, it would be hard to stake a claim that we’ve made steps forward. The problem is that our relationship with uncertainty has dwindled. Chapter 21 reflects on topics from previous chapters, including warped incentive structures, short-term thinking, and inflexible funding structures, and how they represent a growing unacceptance of uncertainty. The chapter concludes with reflecting on how this is likely to affect the rate and direction of progress.
Volenti non fit injuria allows a negligent defendant to escape liability by showing that the claimant voluntarily and willingly accepted the risk in question. This article combines the theoretical limitations of the volenti defence with a case analysis of how its application has played out in the “real world”, and argues it is not fit for modern tort law. The defence has a controversial and chequered history, being described as a “so-called principle … of little help: indeed, it is confusing, unnecessary, and if we are not careful, it will lead us to the wrong outcome”. It is submitted that volenti is based on unjustified concepts of people agreeing to risks, leads to harmful outcomes and that the defence does not fit with current approaches to tort liability. This article therefore concludes that the harmful outcomes of the volenti defence far exceed any potential benefits provided, and the defence should therefore be abolished.
Using college student samples, two studies were conducted to validate the Chinese version of the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) Scale. The results replicated important findings reported by Weber et al. (2002) in the Chinese culture. Risk-taking and risk perception were domain-specific, whereas perceived-risk attitudes were relatively stable across domains, supporting the risk-return model of risk taking. Results of both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the ethical, recreational, health/safety, and gambling domains were preserved in the Chinese version of DOSPERT and that the items from social and investment domains formed one factor. This result may be explained by Weber and Hsee's (1998) cushion hypothesis. Other possible reasons for this cross-cultural difference in the factor structure were also discussed.
Indoor climate interventions are often motivated from a worker comfort and productivity perspective. However, the relationship between indoor climate and human performance remains unclear. We assess the effect of indoor climate factors on human performance, focusing on the impact of indoor temperature on decision processes. Specifically, we expect heat to negatively influence higher cognitive rational processes, forcing people to rely more on intuitive shortcuts. In a laboratory setting, participants (N=257) were exposed to a controlled physical environment with either a hot temperature (28° C) or a neutral temperature (22° C) over a two-hour period, in which a battery of validated tests were conducted. We find that heat exposure did not lead to a difference in decision quality. We did find evidence for a strong gender difference in self-report, such that only men expect that high temperature leads to a significant decline in performance, which does in fact not materialize. These results cast doubt on the validity of self-report as a proxy for performance under different indoor climate conditions.
The effect of choice bracketing — the consideration of repeated decisions as a set versus in isolation — has important implications for products that are inherently time-sensitive and entail varying levels of risk, including retirement accounts, insurance purchases, and lottery preferences. We show that broader choice brackets lead to more optimal risk preferences across all risk types, including negative expected value and pure-loss gambles, suggesting that broad decision framing can help individuals make better choices over risks more generally. We also examine the mechanism behind these bracketing effects. We find that bracketing effects work by attenuating (magnifying) the weight placed on potential losses for positive EV (non-positive EV) gambles and by providing aggregated outcomes that might not otherwise be calculated. Thus, decision frames that provide probability distributions or aggregated outcomes can help individuals maximize expected value across different types of risky prospects.
Risky behaviors such as substance use, unsafe sexual interactions, aggression, and antisocial behavior are often elevated during adolescence and can serve as powerful influences on both youth adjustment and long-term mental and physical health outcomes. The various stages of adolescence, from early adolescence to emerging adulthood, present novel opportunities and challenges, often introducing new risk-taking opportunities. Underlying adolescents’ risk behaviors during this developmental period are extensive cognitive, biological, and social factors including brain development, new and renegotiated relationships, and contextual considerations such as socioeconomic status, community resources, and identity-related stress. Current interventions target risk behaviors at a variety of levels, focusing on individuals, families, schools, and communities, with many of these efforts demonstrating success with different populations. Future research and prevention efforts will continue to benefit from targeting multiple co-occurring behaviors, considering social influences of underserved groups facing disparities in risk-taking behaviors, culturally adapting interventions, and including other caregivers such as fathers.
Emotion reactivity and risk behaviors (ERRB) are transdiagnostic dimensions associated with suicide attempt (SA). ERRB patterns may identify individuals at increased risk of future SAs.
Methods
A representative sample of US Army soldiers entering basic combat training (n = 21 772) was surveyed and followed via administrative records for their first 48 months of service. Latent profile analysis of baseline survey items assessing ERRB dimensions, including emotion reactivity, impulsivity, and risk-taking behaviors, identified distinct response patterns (classes). SAs were identified using administrative medical records. A discrete-time survival framework was used to examine associations of ERRB classes with subsequent SA during the first 48 months of service, adjusting for time in service, socio-demographic and service-related variables, and mental health diagnosis (MH-Dx). We examined whether associations of ERRB classes with SA differed by year of service and for soldiers with and without a MH-Dx.
Results
Of 21 772 respondents (86.2% male, 61.8% White non-Hispanic), 253 made a SA. Four ERRB classes were identified: ‘Indirect Harming’ (8.9% of soldiers), ‘Impulsive’ (19.3%), ‘Risk-Taking’ (16.3%), and ‘Low ERRB’ (55.6%). Compared to Low ERRB, Impulsive [OR 1.8 (95% CI 1.3–2.4)] and Risk-Taking [OR 1.6 (95% CI 1.1–2.2)] had higher odds of SA after adjusting for covariates. The ERRB class and MH-Dx interaction was non-significant. Within each class, SA risk varied across service time.
Conclusions
SA risk within the four identified ERRB classes varied across service time. Impulsive and Risk-Taking soldiers had increased risk of future SA. MH-Dx did not modify these associations, which may therefore help identify risk in those not yet receiving mental healthcare.
Most decisions involving risk are not taken in isolation. In addition to the risk from that decision, other independent, so-called ‘background’ risks, are considered. Our research adds to the growing evidence that this background risk influences risk-taking. We report results from a repeated lab-in-the-field investment task with Senegalese fishers in the presence of background risk related to their fishing income and their health. Our measure of background risk is the monthly wind condition. Without controls, we find that fishers act on average intemperately. Adding controls, we find that the impact of background risk on risk-taking—measured as the investment in the investment task—depends on the boat size of the fishers. When dividing the sample according to wealth, we find temperate behavior for the relatively poorer group and intemperate behavior that depends on boat lengths for the relatively richer group. Our results show the interrelations between background risk and context factors.