The influence of social value orientation on self-other risk decision-making and its mechanisms

Previous studies on risk-taking behaviors in decision-making for oneself and others are inconsistent, possibly because previous studies have not considered the influence of decision-making situations and the interpersonal characteristics of decision-makers on their decision-making behaviors. Social value orientation (SVO) is a typical interpersonal trait. SVO refers to the social preferences of individuals when they allocate resources to themselves and others. Individuals can usually be divided into prosocials and proselfs according SVO. The purpose of the present study was to explore the impact of SVO on self-other risk decision-making and its mechanisms. The integrative model of SVO implies that prosocials care more about the effects of decision-making on others than proselfs. Therefore, we hypothesized that proselfs might be more comfortable with risk than prosocials in making decisions on behalf of others, and that the level of concern for the interests of others might mediate the SVO effects of decision-makers on self-other risk decisions. In the present study, the participants first filled out the SVO slider measure, then completed a mixed gambling game on the computer, and finally filled out the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI) that measures empathy. The mixed gambling game included 480 rounds of gambling, each with two options: the uncertainty option, and the certainty option with a result of 0. Choosing uncertainty meant gambling, while choosing certainty meant not gambling. Participants were asked to choose whether to gamble for themselves and strangers in different situations. Uncertainty options were 50% probability to win a certain value (potential gain value, G) and 50% probability of losing a certain value (potential loss value, L). The values of G 20, 22,. . . , 50 and the values of L 20, 22,. . . , 48 were paired to obtain 240 combinations, which were randomly divided into four groups. The independent variables were beneficiary (self/other) and SVO (proself/prosocial). There were three dependent variables: level of risk-taking, loss aversion, and the degree of concern for potential gains and losses. The results showed that prosocials exhibited similar risk-taking and sensitivity to potential gains and losses when making decisions for strangers, while proselfs showed more tolerance for risk-taking and less sensitivity to others’ gains and losses. Both prosocials and proselfs showed less loss aversion when making decisions for strangers than for themselves. The mediation-effect analysis indicated that the difference in self-other risk decision-making could be partially mediated by loss aversion and sensitivity to others’ potential losses, and the SVO effect on the differences in self-other risk decision-making could be partially mediated by the sensitivity to others’ potential losses. These findings suggest that SVO can affect self-other risk decision-making and that this effect may play a role through the degree of concern for the interests of others, which indicates that SVO in decision-makers affects behaviors in making decisions for strangers. Therefore, in future studies of self-other risk decisions, SVO should be taken into account in the interpersonal characteristics of decision makers.