Do risk-averse people lie less? A comparison of risk-taking behavior in deceptive and non-deceptive scenarios

We studied decision making in situations in which there is a monetary incentive to take risk, and in which the risk taking option sometimes involves deception. We conducted a within participant experiment in which we compared risk taking in deception conditions to pure (non-deceptive) gambles with equivalent risks and outcomes. We confirmed the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes in both conditions. We found that participants chose fewer risky options when the risky option was associated with deception, but that those who deceived more in the deception condition also took more risks in the gamble condition. We conclude that people who tend to take risks in gambles, also take them when it involves deception, although to a lesser extent.