Risk strategy under task complexity: a multivariate analysis of behaviour in a naturalistic setting
✍ Scribed by J. E. V. Johnson; A. C. Bruce
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 221 KB
- Volume
- 11
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0894-3257
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This study complements the existing literature on decision-making processes and outcomes in complex settings by exploring the impact of dierent types of complexity on risk strategies in a naturalistic setting. The study analyses a large sample of decisions made by individuals in UK ocourse betting markets, a fertile environment for observing both a variety of risk strategies and a range of task complexities. Speci®cally, the investigation focuses on the comparative impacts of complexity de®ned in terms, respectively, of alternatives and attributes. The results suggest that the risk strategy employed is aected by task complexity. Complexity does not aect the size of risk accepted but alternative-and attributebased complexity together in¯uence the propensity to accept greater degrees of risk. In addition, the eect of attribute-based complexity on risk taking appears to be modi®ed by the use of risk-hedging strategies. The results are observed to corroborate some earlier work on decision process and outcome; where dierences with earlier ®ndings are identi®ed, some possible explanations are oered.