The effect of self-control resource on risk preference

Individuals’ self-control resource (SCR) determines the strength of their self-control, which affects risk preference in risky choice decision making. However, the role of SCR in evaluating risk preference is poorly understood. I designed 2 studies consisting of a laboratory experiment in which participants were required to choose from 2 options in each of 4 risky-choice scenarios, to examine how variance in individuals’ SCR level affected their risk preference. Results indicated that individuals showed a stronger risk preference when they had a higher SCR level than when their SCR level was lower and that they showed less risk preference when their level of SCR was depleted. In accordance with these findings, I investigated the mechanisms of SCR level and variance and discussed the role of SCR in risky choice decision making.