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The Guide for Getting Risky
“Creatures inveterately wrong in their judgments and subsequent decisions have a pathetic but praise-worthy tendency to die before reproducing their kind.” – Willard Van Orman Quine (1969) I was hoping to slink into the ballroom
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Hazardous Thinking
Much of the attention given to risky behavior focuses on affect — how that drink or cigarette will make one feel. But what about cognition? Cognitive processes like prediction, planning, reasoning, and memory also play
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Monetary Gain and High-Risk Tactics Stimulate Activity in the Brain
Monetary gain stimulates activity in the brain — even the mere possibility of receiving a reward is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum. A team of Japanese researchers measured striatum
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Power and the Illusion of Control: Why Some Make the Impossible Possible and Others Fall Short
Power holders often seem misguided in their actions. Leaders and commanders of warring nations regularly underestimate the costs in time, money, and human lives required for bringing home a victory. CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
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If It’s Hard to Say, It Must be Risky
We all have different criteria for what we consider risky. However, numerous studies have suggested that we tend to perceive familiar products and activities as being less risky and hazardous than unfamiliar ones. If something
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Born to be Wild? Thrill-Seeking Behavior May Be Based in the Brain
Sky diving and base jumping are not for everyone. However, for certain people, the more risk and adrenaline involved in an activity, the better! What draws some people to daredevil behavior while others shy away
