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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
When risk seeking becomes a motivational necessity.
Abigail A Scholer1, Xi Zou, Kentaro Fujita
1Department of Psychology, Box 407, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA. ascholer@gettysburg.edu
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|July 28, 2010
Summary
Risk-seeking behavior under loss is driven by self-regulation. Individuals become risk-seeking when in a loss state, using prevention motivation to maintain the status quo, especially when risky options are the only way to recover.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Decision Science
Background:
- Self-regulatory mechanisms are crucial for understanding decision-making, particularly under conditions of risk and loss.
- Existing models of risky decision-making under loss do not fully incorporate motivational factors related to self-regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of self-regulatory mechanisms, specifically prevention and promotion focus, in driving risk-seeking behavior when individuals face losses.
- To identify the conditions under which risk-seeking becomes a motivational necessity.
Main Methods:
- Four experimental studies were conducted to examine the relationship between regulatory focus, loss states, and risk-seeking behavior.
- Regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion) was measured and manipulated.
- Participants' choices between risky and conservative options were analyzed under various loss scenarios.
Main Results:
- Prevention motivation, but not promotion motivation, was uniquely associated with maintaining the status quo when facing losses.
- Risk-seeking increased when the risky option was the sole path to return to the status quo.
- When a conservative option also allowed for status quo recovery, prevention motivation led to risk aversion.
- Prevention motivation did not predict risk-seeking when neither option offered a return to the status quo.
Conclusions:
- Self-regulatory mechanisms, particularly prevention focus, significantly influence risk-seeking behavior under loss.
- The availability of options to restore the status quo moderates the relationship between prevention motivation and risk-seeking.
- Incorporating regulatory focus provides a more comprehensive understanding of risky decision-making under loss.
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