Risk escalation is amplified by stakes, not by a sense of control

Risk escalation is amplified by stakes, not by a sense of control | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Risk escalation is amplified by stakes, not by a sense of control Hadeel Haj-Ali, Moshe Glickman, Bastien Blain, Tali Sharot This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9527851/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract People are often faced with the same risky choices repeatedly: how much to invest, how much to drink, how fast to drive. These decisions are not made just once, but dozens of times. How does repetition per se alter risk-taking? Here, we isolate the effect of mere repetition from outcome learning to examine how risk attitude changes over time. Across three experiments, participants made repeated financial wagers on lotteries with positive expected value. Initially, participants wagered far below the optimal strategy of a risk-neutral agent. With repetition, however, risk-taking gradually escalated. Two factors boosted risk-taking, moving participants even closer to the ‘rational’ benchmark: stakes and agency. Participants wagered more when potential rewards were high and when they could select their own cue to wager on. Yet only stakes shaped the trajectory of escalation, with steeper escalation emerging exclusively at higher reward potential. These findings illuminate how repetition erodes risk aversion and suggest strategies for promoting adaptive risk-taking while curbing maladaptive risk-taking. Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience Financial risk Rewards Risk escalation Agency Sense of Control Risk aversion Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SOP.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9527851","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629563344,"identity":"ee5095fc-72f1-493d-92c3-478807dec23f","order_by":0,"name":"Hadeel 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These decisions are not made just once, but dozens of times. How does repetition \u003cem\u003eper se\u003c/em\u003e alter risk-taking? Here, we isolate the effect of mere repetition from outcome learning to examine how risk attitude changes over time. Across three experiments, participants made repeated financial wagers on lotteries with positive expected value. Initially, participants wagered far below the optimal strategy of a risk-neutral agent. With repetition, however, risk-taking gradually escalated. Two factors boosted risk-taking, moving participants even closer to the \u0026lsquo;rational\u0026rsquo; benchmark: stakes and agency. Participants wagered more when potential rewards were high and when they could select their own cue to wager on. Yet only stakes shaped the \u003cem\u003etrajectory\u003c/em\u003e of escalation, with steeper escalation emerging exclusively at higher reward potential. 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