PERSONALITY AND RISK-TAKING

Many experts on decision-making believe that there is no individual inclination of high generality to take risks of a certain magnitude. Reported research on the relationships between different kinds of risk-taking measures has been interpreted as supporting this view. However, the research is open to criticism. It does not take appropriate account of differences between actual and fictitious decisions, of differences between important and unimportant decisions, and of individuals' commitment to their decision-making. An empirical study was attempted of the relationship for 71 university-level students between different kinds of risk-taking measures and between these measures and certain personality traits. The results strengthen the above mentioned doubts about previous research and indicate that for the analyzed decision problems, there is a general inclination to take risks when decisions can be assumed to be made in non-impulsive manner and that this inclination is affected by the individual's way of coping with conflicts. © 1990.