Countless parents have asked, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?” And although it’s unclear exactly when in human history the first child might have rolled his or her eyes in response, it does turn out that mums and dads have right to worry: The influence of those around us can affect decisions we make about risk-taking, according to a new study.
Experts analysed behaviour of people who risked money (not personal safety) and found that after observing risky behaviour in others, people were more likely to take risks themselves. Social scientists use the term “behavioural contagion” to explain the phenomenon of people shifting their beliefs to conform with those expressed by others around them, said Shinsuke Suzuki, co-author of the study at the California Institute of Technology.
The new study shows that people can “catch” a tendency toward risky behaviour based on proximity to people who are risk-seeking, Suzuki told Live Science in an email.
But the study also found that people shy away from taking a risk if they observe others doing the same, he added.
“Primarily, our findings advance our understanding in how our own risk-taking behaviour can be influenced through passively observing other agents,” Suzuki said.
Risky business
In the study, 24 people faced a gambling scenario. They were given four seconds to decide whether they wanted to say “yes” to a sure thing — a guaranteed win of $10 — or take a chance at getting a higher amount.
Sometimes they were also asked to observe others making the same choice, or even to predict someone else’s response (whether they were likely to take a risk or not), without being able to see the outcomes of their choices.
Scientists found that when participants didn’t observe others’ choices, the majority behaved cautiously, and were more likely to choose the safer bet — the guaranteed $10.
But when participants observed others, who were engaged in risk-taking behaviour, they were likely to also adopt the riskier bet, even though they had no way of knowing if the risks actually paid off for the people they were observing.
“Our present findings indicate that when an individual has the opportunity to consistently observe the risky behaviour of another agent, one’s own risk-preference can be directly influenced,” the scientists concluded.
Contagious behavior
Other research has suggested that people do “catch” certain behaviours from others. Laughter is often described as contagious, and a 2006 study found that it really is, with the brain signalling facial muscles to smile in response to hearing others laughing. Other studies said yawning is contagious — especially among friends — and this is true among chimpanzees and even among wolves, as well. A 2013 study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface showed clapping is an example of “contagious behaviour”, with researchers describing behaviours like applause after a performance as something that hops from a person to person.”
Source: www.livescience.com
