Date of Completion
2021
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Psychological Science
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors
First Advisor
Eric Thrailkill
Second Advisor
Mark Bouton
Third Advisor
Jeremy Sibold
Keywords
prospect theory, loss aversion, risk aversion, decision making, athletes
Abstract
Loss aversion describes the propensity to prefer avoiding losses over obtaining equivalent gains. In two experiments, I examined loss aversion and other decision-making variables. In Experiment 1, club sport athletes and non-athletes completed measures of loss aversion, risk aversion, delay discounting, and probability discounting. Groups were compared to assess the hypothesis that athletes are less loss and risk averse than non-athletes. The samples did not significantly differ in their levels of loss aversion or delay or probability discounting. However, athletes were less risk averse than non-athletes. Experiment 2 examined predictions of loss aversion for different conditions in which the expected values of each choice were manipulated. Two groups received three blocks consisting of 64 hypothetical 50-50 gambles that each presented a potential gain and a potential loss. Participants chose to accept or reject the gamble. For the AAA group, gains ranged from $12 to $40, and losses ranged from $6 to $20 in all three phases. The ABA group experienced the same ranges in Phases 1 and 3 but reversed ranges in Phase 2. I hypothesized that the participants’ choices would be sensitive to the expected value of the gambles and that, independent of the expected value, they would accept gambles in a manner consistent with loss aversion. The results supported my hypotheses. Loss aversion was observed at each test block; however, groups differed systematically in how well their choices matched the predictions of loss aversion. Overall, the results provide new information on the influence of experience on decision making.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Kafka, Julian, "Factors that Influence Whether Choices are Consistent with Loss Aversion" (2021). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 414.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/414