Young adults gamble less when observed by peers

The impact of peer presence on the choices made by young people is yet to be fully understood. Using an incentive compatible experiment, we investigate whether: (1) young people’s willingness to accept known and unknown risks varies when in the presence of an observer of the similar age compared to in private and (2) whether these preferences are affected by having observed peer’s decisions. We find that young adults do not gamble more when observed by peers, rather they become more ambiguity averse