| An individual’s perception of risk has long been theorized to directly influence the
likelihood of participation in risky behavior, however, research demonstrates that this relation is
not as clear as previously thought, and other variables may help to better explain these relations.
Impulsivity may be an important component in understanding the relation between risk
perception and risk behavior and advances in the conceptualization of impulsivity suggests that it
may be more meaningful to examine specific aspects thought to compose impulsivity as their
own distinct entities rather than a larger psychological construct. Delay and probability
discounting are commonly used behavioral measures of sensitivity to delayed and probabilistic
outcomes, respectively. This study examined the role of delay and probability discounting, and
risk perceptions in predicting risk behaviors. Adults (N= 108) were recruited through Prolific
and completed delay and probability discounting tasks and measures of risk-taking and risk
perceptions. Results indicated that risk perceptions and impulsivity alone were enough to
significantly predict general risk-taking behaviors. However, a model examining these relations
utilizing measures of sexual risk perception and probability discounting more significantly
predicted sexual risk-taking behaviors than impulsivity and risk perceptions alone. This study
adds to a growing body of literature suggesting the importance of selecting commodity specific
measures when examining human health behaviors.
Keywords: decision making, delay discounting, probability discounting, risk behaviors,
commodity specificity |