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"Nicholas D. Wright"
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Source: Getty
Developmental Changes in Effects of Risk and Valence on Adolescent Decision-Making
Recent research on risky decision-making in adults has shown that both the risk in potential outcomes and their valence (i.e., whether those outcomes involve gains or losses) exert dissociable influences on decisions.
Source: Cognitive Development
Recent research on risky decision-making in adults has shown that both the risk in potential outcomes and their valence (i.e., whether those outcomes involve gains or losses) exert dissociable influences on decisions. We hypothesised that the influences of these two crucial decision variables (risk and valence) on decision-making would vary developmentally during adolescence. We adapted a risk-taking paradigm that provides precise metrics for the impacts of risk and valence. Decision-making in 11–16 year old female adolescents was influenced by both risk and valence. However, their influences assumed different developmental patterns: the impact of valence diminished with age, while there was no developmental change in the impact of risk. These different developmental patterns provide further evidence that risk and valence are fundamentally dissociable constructs and have different influences on decisions across adolescence.
The full article was published in Cognitive Development, 28, pp. 290-299.
About the Author
Former Nonresident Associate, Nuclear Policy Program
Wright was a nonresident associate in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment. His research draws on his background in neuroscience to explore political decisionmaking in economics and nuclear security.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.