Humans have generally been considered risk averse for gains. Yet, growing evidence shows that risk preferences may change across reward currencies and depend on the type of tasks used to measure them. Here, we examined how context affects human risk preferences to shed light on the psychological mechanisms underlying human decision-making under risk. Participants were presented with a descriptive risky choice task involving repeated choices between real options and they were provided with trial-by-trial feedback. We manipulated the type of reward and, for the first time, the format of the choice stimuli. Options were either 2D computer-based images or concrete 3D objects, and participants received food or money as reward. First, we found that participants were more risk-seeking for food compared to money, suggesting that people treat money differently from consumable rewards. Second, we found that people were more risk-seeking when they made choices between concrete 3D objects than between 2D computer-based images. Our results strengthened the evidence that human choice patterns may change depending on the context and, for the first time, showed that the format of the choice stimuli does affect risk preferences, an important consideration for future research.

中文翻译：

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情境因素调节成年人的风险偏好

人类通常被认为是为了收益而厌恶风险。然而，越来越多的证据表明，风险偏好可能会因奖励货币而异，并取决于用于衡量它们的任务类型。在这里，我们研究了环境如何影响人类风险偏好，以阐明人类在风险下决策的心理机制。参与者接受了一项描述性风险选择任务，涉及在实物期权之间重复选择，并为他们提供了逐个试验的反馈。我们第一次操纵了奖励的类型和选择刺激的格式。选项是基于计算机的 2D 图像或具体的 3D 对象，参与者收到食物或金钱作为奖励。首先，我们发现与金钱相比，参与者更愿意冒险寻求食物，表明人们对待金钱与可消费的奖励不同。其次，我们发现人们在具体的 3D 对象之间做出选择时比在基于计算机的 2D 图像之间做出选择时更倾向于冒险。我们的结果加强了人类选择模式可能会根据环境而变化的证据，并首次表明选择刺激的格式确实会影响风险偏好，这是未来研究的一个重要考虑因素。