Acute stress increases sex differences in risk seeking in the balloon analogue risk task.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Decisions involving risk often must be made under stressful circumstances. Research on behavioral and brain differences in stress responses suggest that stress might have different effects on risk taking in males and females. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In this study, participants played a computer game designed to measure risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task) fifteen minutes after completing a stress challenge or control task. Stress increased risk taking among men but decreased it among women. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Acute stress amplifies sex differences in risk seeking; making women more risk avoidant and men more risk seeking. Evolutionary principles may explain these stress-induced sex differences in risk taking behavior.