Emotional Intelligence and Risk Behaviour: A Risk Domain-Dependent Relationship

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Decision Science
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Emotions significantly impact risk decision-making.
• The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and risk-taking behavior is understudied and yields inconsistent results.
• Risk-taking encompasses various domains including Ethical, Health, Financial, Social, and Recreational.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between EI and risk-taking behavior across diverse domains.
• To examine the moderating effects of age and gender on the EI-risk behavior relationship.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 1435 Spanish adults (ages 18-70, 61.9% women) participated.
• Emotional intelligence was assessed using the TMMS scale.
• Risk-taking propensity was measured using the DOSPERT scale across multiple domains.

Main Results:

• EI showed a negative association with risk-taking in Ethical and Health domains.
• EI demonstrated a positive association with risk-taking in Social and Recreational domains.
• Both age and gender significantly influenced EI levels and risk-taking behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Risk-taking is a domain-specific construct, with EI exhibiting differential relationships across domains.
• Elevated EI levels may be adaptive for managing risk behaviors, irrespective of the specific domain.
• Findings have practical implications for understanding and potentially intervening in risk-related decision-making.