Risk Seekers May Be Antisocial After All

Da Silva, Sergio (2014): Risk Seekers May Be Antisocial After All. Published in: Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences , Vol. 2, No. 3 (30 October 2014): pp. 87-95.

Abstract

Undergraduates were given a battery of psychological tests to gauge their degree of antisocial personality traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism and nihilism). The students also responded to questionnaires to assess their attitudes toward risk and intertemporal choice. Biological attributes of the respondents were also collected. We found a correlation between psychopathic, Machiavellian and nihilistic traits in the sample, and also that risk seekers were antisocial. Additionally, we found, on average, that younger subjects presented higher levels of psychopathy; atheists were more Machiavellian; and atheists who were anxious tend to be nihilists. Moreover, boys born from younger mothers were more risk seeking than girls born from older mothers. We also found older subjects to be less patient.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Risk, Patience, Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Nihilism, Biological attributes
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D03 - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles; D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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