The Risk Propensity Task (PTR): A proposal for a behavioral performance-based computer test for assessing risk propensity

Abstract

Individual differences in risk propensity have been traditionally assessed by self-report. These instruments are sensitive to response distortion which is not easy to deal with. The paper presents a new objective behavioral performance-based assessment instrument for assessing risk propensity: the Risk Propensity Task (PTR), and its psychometric properties. The first study (N = 234) explores reliability and dimensionality of the PTR. Results show high internal consistency (alpha = .94), and adequate dimensionality. The second study (N = 59) analyzes PTR convergent and incremental validity, using a Sensation Seeking questionnaire (SSS-V), risk-taking behavior self-reports (RTI, SRB) and another performance-based test (BDT). Results show significant correlations between PTR scores and the other instrument scores. The amount of variance explained by the other measures used increases by 6.7% with the PTR. These results indicate that the PTR may be a useful tool in the assessment of risk propensity.