University of Canberra Motivation and Emotion Multimedia Assessment Linked from Wikiversity book chapter.

1. Risk-Taking
Why do we take risks?
What are the consequences?
University of Canberra
Motivation and Emotion, 2011
Kathleen Hughes

2. Risk
“ You have to risk going too far in order to discover just how far you can really
go. ”
- T.S. Eliott, 1888
Do you binge drink, smoke cigarettes, take
drugs, drink and drive or have unprotected
sex?
If you have ever engaged in any of these
behaviours you may not be aware that you are
a risk-taker.
And in some cases it's not just a behaviour, it's a
part of your personality.

3. Risk can be classified as the potential that a
chosen action or activity (including the choice
of inaction) will lead to a loss.
The notion implies that a choice having an
influence on the outcome exists (or existed).
Potential losses themselves may also be called
"risks". Almost any human endeavour carries
some risk, but some are much more risky than
others.

4. Risk
Taking a risk is when you experiment with a new
behaviour. It can be a healthy and a positive way to:
• Test your limits
• Test other peoples boundaries
• Learn new skills and experience new things (including
in work, study, relationships)
• Take on more independence and responsibility for your
life.
• Taking risks can be fun and give you an adrenaline rush
but sometimes those risks may affect your well-being
and cause you harm (Hamilton, 1974).
So why do we take risks? What are some of the
consequences of risky behaviour and how can we
manage risk-taking healthily?

5. The Problem and Consequences
“ To be alive at all requires some risk. ”
- Harold Macmillan, 1894
• Engaging in risky behaviours can become a problem if it has
a negative effect on your day-to-day life.
Examples of unhealthy risky behaviours might be:
• Unprotected sex
• Drink driving
• Car surfing
• Drug or alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking
• Deliberate self-harm
• Dropping out of school or getting suspended regularly
• Breaking the law, e.g. shoplifting, and
• Severe or excessive dieting.

6. Consequences
• One of the major problems and long term
consequences of engaging in risky behaviour
consistently is the negative effect it can have
on an individuals ability to function as a fully
functioning and successful member of society.

7. Binge Drinking
• Risk-taking behaviours such as substance use
does not occur without a variety of
consequences for individuals, including a
variety of psychosocial and behavioural
problems during adolescence and early
adulthood. Binge drinking has been associated
with lower rates of educational attainment,
antisocial and violent behaviour, driving under
the influence, and even health problems, such
as obesity.

8. Substance Use
• Marijuana use also has the potential to bring about
many detrimental consequences. In a manner similar
to alcohol use, high rates of marijuana usage have
been associated with lower educational performance
and lower expectations for success, problems relating
to other family members, a greater likelihood to use
more illicit drugs in the future, and a combination of
physical and psychological health problems. The use of
illicit substances by individuals, such as cocaine, has
been linked to consequences similar to those shown
among individuals who drink heavily and smoke
marijuana.

9. Why Do We Take Risks?
“ Yes, risk-taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called
sure-thing-taking.”
- Jim McMahon, 1959
During the different stages of life, people
can become vulnerable to the influences
of peer pressure and popular culture. This
can lead to individuals being inclined to
experiment, push boundaries and take
risks that could impact on their own and
others immediate and longer term health
and wellbeing.

10. The reasons you might take unhealthy risks, include:
• Peer pressure - It is not uncommon to want to have respect
from your peer group or those whose opinion may be
important to you. Engaging in a risky or dangerous activity
or behaviour may be a way for you to feel accepted and
part of the group.
• Believing that it's a way of proving to yourself or others that
you're an adult and that you are responsible for your own
actions.
• Dealing with problems or escaping from unhappy situations
or feelings. It may not always be obvious that you are using
the behaviour as a way of managing your problem or
unhappy situation.
• As a form of rebellion against something or someone.
• To get attention or a response from someone.

11. Risk Assessment
• Risk assessment is a step in a risk management
procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of
quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a
concrete situation and a recognized threat (also called
hazard).
• Individuals obviously differ in all aspects of behaviour
and personality and the same can be said for propensity
of risk-taking behaviours. While some individuals
demonstrate sparse or spontaneous risk-taking
behaviours, others continuously demonstrate consistent
risk-taking behaviours. There are a few different means in
use in order to measure someone’s risk-taking
tendencies, three of which are the Betting Dice Test, the
Iowa Gambling Task and the Balloon Analog Risk Task;
these will be further outlined.

12. Iowa Gambling Task
• First, the Iowa Gambling Task is a computer-based task in
which participants have to select cards from one out of four
decks in order to get as much money as they can; when the
card is selected, the amount won is indicated. The decks
differ in the amount of immediate gain versus the
possibility of penalty with larger rewards and losses in
decks A and B than in decks C and D. The optimum results
are achieved by avoiding decks A, B and selecting cards
from decks C and D. The IGT is not a pure risk propensity
measure. Instead, it is a measure of decision-making
impairment usually present in ventro-medial prefrontal
cortex damaged patients. In fact, the expected values of
the four decks are not the same. It is expected that
unimpaired people choose cards from the more
“advantageous” decks.

13. Balloon Analog Risk Task
• A second behavioural measure is the Balloon Analog
Risk Task in which participants pump up an on-screen
balloon with the aim of making it as large as possible
without causing it to explode. The balloons have
different explosion probabilities from the first to the
128th pump; as long as it doesn’t explode, the larger
the balloon is pumped, the greater the gain. The
Balloon Analog Risk Task can be considered a “pure”
measure of risk propensity as long because it clearly
presents a risky situation in which alternatives have
different (uncertain) probabilities and rewards.

14. Betting Dice Test
• A third behavioural measure of risk-propensity is the Betting Dice
Test (BDT), which consists of betting on one out of four alternatives
that can result when throwing two dice. The higher the probability
of occurrence, the lower the reward associated. Contrary to the
Balloon Analog Risk Task, where the expected values of the
alternatives change throughout the test, the expected values of the
Betting Dice Test options are always the same. It is therefore
assumed that participants who bet on the more probable but less
rewarded alternative are making a more conservative selection
than those who place the less probable though more rewarded bet.
Moreover, no feedback is given after each bet. Participants
elections are free from the previous results obtained. The test
developed from a risk-return trade-off framework: Potential return
rises with increase in risk, so that low levels of risk are associated
with low potential returns, and high levels of risk are associated
with high potential returns.

15. Risk Management
• You may be thinking about taking a risk or are
already engaging in risk-taking behaviours.
Changing your behaviour can be tough,
particularly if you have been engaging in risky
behaviour for a while. If you are feeling pressure
to change, the change will require changing your
lifestyle, or moving away from some people that
you associate with for a period of time.
• The following steps may help you decide whether
you want to continue or change your behaviour.

16. • Identify:Sometimes you may not be aware that a behaviour is unhelpful or
unhealthy. Identify the risks and benefits of your behaviour and how it
effects others and yourself (e.g. health, work, family etc).
• Contemplation: Think about the pros and cons of changing your
behaviour. This might include thinking about how you can reduce the risks
associated with the problem or risky behaviour.
• Decision:If you do decide a change in behaviour is needed, start by making
a plan to change. This might include action plans and setting small,
gradual goals.
• Action: As you start carrying out your action plan make sure you reward
yourself for reaching each goal, in order to provide positive reinforcement.
Identifying barriers to change, coping skills, and social supports is also
important.
• Maintenance: Develop strategies for sustaining the changes. This may be
through your social supports and by reminding yourself why you decided
to change your behaviour in the first place.
• Relapse: You might find yourself reverting back to the unhelpful
behaviour. It's important not to blame yourself or feel guilty. Changing
behaviour can be hard and relapse is not uncommon, what is important is
that you keep trying to lead a healthier and safer lifestyle.

17. Finding Help
“ Nothing risked, nothing gained.”
-Alexander Woollcott
• Cocaine Anonymous Australia
Help Line - +61 (0)432 040 023
• Alcoholics Anonymous Australia
Help Line - + (02) 6287 3020
• Marijuana Anonymous Australia
Help Line - +61 (0)403 945 083
• Narcotics Anonymous Australia
Help Line - + (02) 9565 1453
• Beyond Blue Australia
Help Line - 1300 22 4636
• Pregnancy, Birth & Baby Helpline Australia
Help Line - 1800 882 436
• Gats counselling (Counselling services)
• Beyond blue: National Depression Initiative (Online resources & counselling services)
• Youth beyond blue (Youth online resources & counselling services)
• My self help(Online support)

18. Summary
• Risk-taking is a part of everyday life in some sense and requires some
degree of risk. In order to accomplish things that you aren't 100% sure are
going to work out the way you want, requires you to take a chance that it
is going to work. It is when risk-taking takes a turn for the dangerous and
unhealthy that it can become a problem for individuals and the people
they are close to. In order to manage risk-taking behaviours effectively it is
necessary to observe your own behaviour closely and try to pinpoint what
it is that makes you behave in risky ways. Once you have identified these
events or behaviours, make the decision to change. Set goals and make an
action plan with positive reinforcers along the way. If external help or
motivation is needed get in contact with a help-line or ask friends and
family for assistance. In psychological sense there are a few different
measures in use for assessment of an individuals risk propensity, most of
which are useful but none of which are agreed with complete consensus
that it is correctly measuring risk-taking. The consequences of risk-taking
can be devastating and long-term and the time should be taken to learn
how to manage your own or to help someone else realise and moderate
risk-taking behaviours.

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