Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/185102 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11642
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We show that the disposition to focus on favorable or unfavorable outcomes of risky situations affects willingness to take risk as measured by the general risk question. We demonstrate that this disposition, which we call risk conception, is strongly associated with optimism, a stable facet of personality and that it predicts real-life risk taking. The general risk question captures this disposition alongside pure risk preference. This enlightens why the general risk question is a better predictor of behavior under risk across different domains than measures of pure risk preference. Our results also rationalize why risk taking is related to optimism.
Subjects: 
risk taking behavior
optimism
preference measures
risk conception
JEL: 
D91
C91
D81
D01
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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