Pak Tae-Young
Department of Consumer Science and Convergence Program for Social Innovation, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 03063, Republic of Korea.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Mar 26;15(4):425. doi: 10.3390/bs15040425.
Economic inequality has been linked to changes in individual risk-taking behavior, yet the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. In this study, I examine whether feelings of relative deprivation from upward social comparisons influence risk preferences. In the randomized experiments, participants were exposed to false information feedback designed to evoke feelings of relative deprivation, and their risk aversion was assessed through hypothetical and incentivized gambles. The results indicate that exposure to relative deprivation reduced risk aversion among men in incentivized lottery experiments, while it had no significant association with risk aversion for either gender in hypothetical gambles. Additionally, relative deprivation lowered perceived social standing and increased anxiety and concerns about personal deservingness-emotional outcomes commonly associated with experiences of relative deprivation. This study provides suggestive evidence that social comparison may influence risk preferences among men through emotional changes and offers insights into how societal inequality affects individual preferences. These findings have important implications for policy interventions aimed at addressing economic disparities and their behavioral consequences.
经济不平等与个体冒险行为的变化有关，但潜在机制仍未得到充分探索。在本研究中，我考察了向上社会比较产生的相对剥夺感是否会影响风险偏好。在随机实验中，参与者接触旨在引发相对剥夺感的虚假信息反馈，并通过假设性和有激励措施的赌博来评估他们的风险厌恶程度。结果表明，在有激励措施的彩票实验中，接触相对剥夺感会降低男性的风险厌恶程度，而在假设性赌博中，它与任何性别的风险厌恶均无显著关联。此外，相对剥夺感降低了感知到的社会地位，并增加了焦虑以及对个人应得性的担忧——这些情绪结果通常与相对剥夺经历相关。本研究提供了启发性证据，表明社会比较可能通过情绪变化影响男性的风险偏好，并深入探讨了社会不平等如何影响个体偏好。这些发现对于旨在解决经济差距及其行为后果的政策干预具有重要意义。
