Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
13:04
Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
Nothing to lose: processing blindness to potential losses drives thrill and adventure seekers
Johann D Kruschwitz1, Alan N Simmons, Taru Flagan
1Insitute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. jkruschwitz@ucsd.edu
Neuroimage
|October 11, 2011
Summary
High sensation seekers exhibit heightened reward sensitivity, leading to greater risk-taking behavior. Their brains show distinct neural responses to risk and reward, prioritizing potential gains over losses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Sensation seeking is a personality trait linked to increased risk-taking behaviors.
- Understanding the neural basis of risk appraisal is crucial for explaining behavioral outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural underpinnings of risk appraisal in individuals with varying levels of sensation seeking.
- To compare brain activity during decision-making tasks between high and low thrill and adventure seeking (TAS) groups.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used on 188 participants stratified by TAS ratings.
- A decision-making task independently mapped risk magnitude and gain direction.
- Low and high TAS groups were compared based on behavioral and neural data.
Main Results:
- High TAS individuals showed greater reward sensitivity but less discrimination between risk with or without punishment.
- Low TAS individuals were less reward-sensitive but more sensitive to punishment in risky situations.
- fMRI revealed group differences in brain regions including the right superior frontal gyrus, left insula, right nucleus accumbens, left lentiform nucleus, and left precuneus.
Conclusions:
- Sensation seeking influences risk processing, with reward sensitivity potentially overriding loss aversion in high TAS individuals.
- Neural differences in approach/avoidance mechanisms underlie the greater risk-taking behavior observed in sensation seekers.
- A neural model suggests that for sensation seekers, the positive response to reward outweighs the impact of potential loss.
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