Contextual factors modulate risk preferences in adult humans

Petrillo, Francesca De; Paoletti, Melania; Bellagamba, Francesca; Manzi, Giorgio; Paglieri, Fabio; Addessi, Elsa

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104137

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Interestingly, this absence of asymmetry has also been reported in rodents [8]. Overall, this observed variability in primates' attitudes toward risk can be partly explained by contextual factors or sampling effect [18][19][20][21].…”

supporting

confidence: 54%

The adaptive value of probability distortion and risk-seeking in macaques’ decision-making

Nioche

Rougier

Deffains

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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In humans, the attitude toward risk is not neutral and is dissimilar between bets involving gains and bets involving losses. The existence and prevalence of these decision features in non-human primates are unclear. In addition, only a few studies have tried to simulate the evolution of agents based on their attitude toward risk. Therefore, we still ignore to what extent Prospect theory’s claims are evolutionarily rooted. To shed light on this issue, we collected data from nine macaques that performed bets involving gains or losses. We confirmed that their overall behaviour is coherent with Prospect theory’s claims. In parallel, we used a genetic algorithm to simulate the evolution of a population of agents across several generations. We showed that the algorithm selects progressively agents that exhibit risk-seeking, and has an inverted S-shape distorted perception of probability. We compared these two results and found that monkeys’ attitude toward risk is only congruent with the simulation when they are facing losses. This result is consistent with the idea that gambling in the loss domain is analogous to deciding in a context of life-threatening challenges where a certain level of risk-seeking behaviour and probability distortion may be adaptive. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates’.

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supporting

confidence: 54%

The adaptive value of probability distortion and risk-seeking in macaques’ decision-making

Nioche

Rougier

Deffains

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Decision preferences can also be affected by external factors. Several aspects of context can shape human choice, including the specific currency of the reward at stake [67,103] and the larger social context. Importantly, these processes intersect with the state-dependent effects described in the prior section: social context or reward currency may affect risk propensity by impacting internal emotional or hormonal states.…”

Section: (G) Context-dependent Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, comparisons of decisionmaking using standardized methods in larger populations with wider variation in sex, ages or particular life experiences are crucial to test these ideas. Finally, the animal choice typically involves biologically relevant rewards, but there is increasing evidence that people can be more risk-seeking when making 'foraging' decisions about food than in equivalent decisions involving money [67,103]. Given that humans engage in evolutionarily novel forms of economic exchange involving abstract currencies, but other primates can be trained to use and exchange tokens in specific contexts [84], animals thus present untapped opportunities to test how experience with markets impacts economic decision-making.…”

Section: Conclusion: Primate Decision-making and Human Economic Originsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in primate decision-making under uncertainty and the roots of human economic behaviour

Petrillo

Rosati

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Uncertainty is a ubiquitous component of human economic behaviour, yet people can vary in their preferences for risk across populations, individuals and different points in time. As uncertainty also characterizes many aspects of animal decision-making, comparative research can help evaluate different potential mechanisms that generate this variation, including the role of biological differences or maturational change versus cultural learning, as well as identify human-unique components of economic decision-making. Here, we examine decision-making under risk across non-human primates, our closest relatives. We first review theoretical approaches and current methods for understanding decision-making in animals. We then assess the current evidence for variation in animal preferences between species and populations, between individuals based on personality, sex and age, and finally, between different contexts and individual states. We then use these primate data to evaluate the processes that can shape human decision-making strategies and identify the primate foundations of human economic behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates’.

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“…Consequently, our findings revealed no clear indications of a sequential component, as described by Stephens [ 29 ] for animal foraging behavior, in human decision-making under risk, neither for decisions about losses (current study) nor for decisions about gains (study of Diederich et al [ 17 ]). Note that human risk behavior may be different in decisions about food than in decisions about monetary amounts [ 68 ]; thus, our study can not provide any information about a sequential component in human foraging behavior.…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keep your budget together! Investigating determinants on risky decision-making about losses

Wyszynski

Diederich

2022

PLoS ONE

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The present study investigates the influence of framing, different amounts to lose, and probabilities of a risky and sure choice option, time limits, and need on risky decision-making. For a given block of trials, participants were equipped with a personal budget (number of points). On each trial within a block, a specific initial amount is possibly taken from the budget by the outcome of a gamble or the choice of a sure loss option. The goal was to avoid losing points from the budget for not falling below a predefined need threshold. Three different levels of induced need were included. Employing a psychophysical experimental approach, we furthermore tested a sequential component of human risk behavior towards a need threshold inspired by research on animal foraging behavior. Risk-sensitivity models and the Stone-Geary framework serve as generating hypotheses on need thresholds. We found that framing, need, and probabilities influenced risky choices. Time limits and initial amounts moderated the framing effect. No sequential component was observed.

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Contextual factors modulate risk preferences in adult humans

Cited by 9 publications

References 57 publications

The adaptive value of probability distortion and risk-seeking in macaques’ decision-making

The adaptive value of probability distortion and risk-seeking in macaques’ decision-making

Variation in primate decision-making under uncertainty and the roots of human economic behaviour

Keep your budget together! Investigating determinants on risky decision-making about losses

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