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Risk-taking/gambling-like behavior in preschool children
1Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, 89154, Las Vegas, NV.
Abstract:
The types and characteristics of risk-taking or gambling-like behaviors in children are not well understood. Social learning, as one potential etiological factor of risktaking behavior in preschool children, was empirically examined. Prior to playing a risk-taking game, children in the experimental group were exposed to a peer model who had ostensibly won a large prize, whereas control children were exposed to a peer model who had won nothing. Children in the experimental group initiated more risks to win the large prize in the high-risk situation than children in the control group. The results indicated that modeling can enhance risk-taking/gambling-like behavior in young children. Parallels to compulsive gambling in adults, and recommendations for future research were also discussed.
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