Effect of Exercise and Mindfulness on Risk Taking Behavior

This study examines the effect of exercise and mindfulness on risk-taking behavior. Exercise and mindfulness are effective in reducing stress. However, research suggests exercise may increase risk-taking behaviors in individuals, while mindfulness has little research claiming it decreases risk-taking. Why might exercise and mindfulness lead to differences in risk-taking behavior? Some explanations for this may be due to the difference in physiological arousal or in goal orientation. Forty-Three healthy undergraduate students participated in this study. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions and had to complete an activity (exercise, mindfulness, or stretching/control). After completing their initial task, participants completed several risk-taking tasks. I hypothesize that participants who exercised will have the highest risk score, followed by stretching (control) and then mindfulness with the lowest risk score. The results showed no significance between any of the conditions. However, the data did show a trend in the direction I anticipated. Although my data is not significant future research can explore the further effects of exercise and risk-taking. One activity that tends to follow exercise is driving. This could be specifically discussed in further research