Are you risk taker or risk averse?

Why Do People Take Risks?

Nick Sednew was working as a trumpet player aboard a cruise ship two years ago when it steered into a powerful storm between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America. The ship's captain told everyone to stay inside, and warning signs blocked the doors to the decks. Sednew did not heed the warnings. "I really like storms, and when else are you going to be in Antarctica? I wanted to witness it, so I went out past the signs," Sednew, 26, recently recounted. The forces of nature were stronger than he expected. As the wind pushed against him, Sednew started running to get back inside, but the deck was slick with rain. He fell. "I broke my nose and cut my lip and there was blood everywhere," he said. Clinging to the railings to prevent being blown overboard, he clambered back to the door. Many people feel the same urge Sednew felt: the desire to venture past the limits of safety in pursuit of a rewarding experience. Sednew was lucky to make it back alive: Sometimes risky desires can be deadly, as exemplified by the frequency of fatal sky-diving and mountain-climbing accidents. Indeed, excessive risk-taking significantly lowers one's life expectancy . So why has the urge evolved? And what explains the differences in what each of us is willing to wager? As with most aspects of our behavior, the answer is buried deep in our evolutionary past.

Gender gap

There are exceptions, of course, but generally speaking, men tend to take more risks than women do. "Especially with recreational risks and financial risks, you'll find this," said Andreas Wilke, an evolutionary psychologist at... Read more...

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