A new look at threat compensation and risk seeking

People enjoy perceiving the world as predictable, but also to experiment excitement –thus risk. While differences in risk-seeking are cognitive and inter-personal (each person has its own level of global risk-seeking), this project tends to show that the sequence of [predictability/risk] in which a given risk-related choice occurs matters a lot. For instance, after too many “units” of predictability, the appetite for risk increases even though the agent rates predictability in a more positive way than risk : the key driver is a phenomenon of compensation. That means that risk-seeking, and the personal optimum for predictability VS excitement, is more motivational than cognitive –depending more on situational/environmental/time-related factors than on standard personal preferences. The project tackles the question of why people voluntarily take risks (=seek uncertainty) at the same time as they seek control over their environment. It could ultimately mitigating risk-taking, as its mechanisms and “incentives” are better understood. 

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