Perspective modulates gambling choices

We know a great deal about risk seeking and risk aversive behaviour in making decisions for yourself at both the behavioural and neural levels (e.g. Loewenstein et al., 2008), but we know comparatively little about the processes that underlie making decisions for others. We tested 39 undergraduate students in a gambling task (De Martino et al., 2006), making forced choice decisions between a sure option, framed as loss or gain, and a risky gamble option, both for themselves and for another person. Effects of framing varied between individuals and participants were divided into a high and a low susceptibility group for analysis. The low susceptibility group was risk neutral for self decisions, but not for other decisions, making more gambling decisions in the loss than gain frames, t(18)=-3.49, p=.003. While the high susceptibility group made more gambling choices in the loss and gain frames for both self, t(19)=- 10.57, p=.0001, d= -3.38, and other decisions, t(19)=-6.62, p=.001, they made significantly more gambling choices in the gain frame for other, t(19)=-4.59, p=.001. The low and high susceptibility groups differ only in choices they make for themselves, but there is no difference in the choices they make for another person