Risk taking against unpredictability contexts: human behavior analysis by the evolutionary approach

• Grant number: 11/23494-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Izar Mauro
• Grantee: Patrícia Izar Mauro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Human risk-taking is understood by evolutionary approach as a behavioral strategy selected against certain environmental and individual cues about the resources availability. Among the environmental cues, the unpredictability environment perception is one of the most influential in risk taking. However, there is no consensus on the prevalence of actual unpredictability perception of the current environment or built a model of unpredictability throughout the development. In addition, traditional approaches provide homogeneous, linear, and positive correlations between these constructs. But, treating them in a multidimensional way, these relationships are not always found. The adoption of a multidimensional model in the risk study may allow us to analyze various aspects that influence the risk (social, cultural, individual, and contextual). In methodological terms, this involves the use of scales for measuring the risk and the use of measures involving the subjects more contextually. This project aims to (1) investigate the influence of unpredictability perception (infant model, contextual and objective) on the variation in rates of risk propensity, and (2) compare different ways of measuring risk propensity. In addition to the sociodemographic questionnaire, we will use the instruments of unpredictability (EIFI, objective data and contextual activation through videos) and of propensity to risk (EPRE, driving a car game and card game). The data collection will take place individually in an experimental setting with sample groups of 18 to 25, divided by gender. Each group will be divided into three groups (control, G1 and G2) submitted to different manipulations of the context of unpredictability, except the control group. (AU)