Optimal decision-making entails outcome evaluation, comparing received costs and benefits with predicted costs and benefits. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain area with major connections to the appetitive and aversive motivation systems, may provide the neural substrate of this evaluation process. One way to measure the relative contribution of these systems on decision-making is to measure individual differences in risk-taking behaviors. For individuals who make risky choices, this evaluation step may be biased: some show a preference for immediate, short-term rewards (increased appetitive system), while devaluing the long-term consequences of their choices (decreased aversive system). However, most studies supporting this theory have utilized monetary loss as the punishment. Other punishments that represent the presence of an aversive outcome, such as delivery of a painful stimulus, may be processed in a separate brain area and thus, may have differing effects on decision-making. The current study aimed to answer two main questions. First, we asked: is the ACC engaged by both appetitive stimuli and aversive stimuli? To answer this question, we recorded the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) response, a component thought to represent activity of the ACC, during a passive reward and punishment prediction task. Results indicated that the FRN responded to whether the outcome was A) unexpected and B) delivered or withheld, but not to the valence of the outcome. Second, we asked: do individual differences in these two systems have a differential impact on decision-making? To answer this question, participants completed a gambling task where they had to choose between large and small bets based on a probability of winning while we recorded their FRN response. They also completed self-report questionnaires indicating their sensitivity to reward/punishment and risk-taking behaviors. Results indicated that increased sensitivity of the appetitive system and decreased sensitivity of the aversive system (measured by both self-report and ERPs) predicted risky choice on the self-report measure and less so on the behavioral measure. Taken together, these results complement those that suggest the ACC is involved in evaluating both costs and benefits and may be influenced by both appetitive and aversive motivational systems.

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding about the influence of technology, specifically cellular phones, on decision making during potentially risky situations in the backcountry. Previous research in this area is contradictory and some studies indicate technology is influencing people to take more risks while others suggest it is not. Further confounding the relationship is the fact that previous studies have found people may be taking more risk in the presence of technology were based largely on respondent perceptions, not observation data. The current study used a scenario-based decision model to examine the difference in decision making between those who carried a cell phone on a hike and those who did not. A one-way ANCOVA revealed there was no statistical difference (F=2.18, p=.0898) between the two groups. This indicated people did not take more risks because they carried a cell phone into the backcountry. Risk tolerance and experience hiking long mountain hikes similar to the mountain used in the scenario were the only two variables that influenced decision making in this model. Because cell phones do not adversely influence decision making, it is proposed cell phones and other wireless communication devices be added as a recommended piece of gear to the 10 essentials to help reduce the time it takes for search and rescue to arrive on scene when help is needed.

Youth involved in the criminal justice system exhibit elevated rates of sexual risk behavior (SRB), placing them at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other deleterious outcomes. High levels of youth-maternal connectedness have been shown to act as a protective factor for SRB in nationally representative studies and in studies with primarily White youth samples. However, there are mixed findings in the research literature on the association of maternal connectedness and SRB among African American and Latino youth, a population who are disproportionately over-represented in the criminal justice system. Additionally, no studies to date have examined the role of maternal connectedness in SRB among justice-involved youth. This dissertation used archived data to determine if maternal connectedness can buffer against the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on SRB among justice-involved youth. A secondary aim was to explore the prevalence of ACEs among youth in the sample, including several new ACE items that focus on adversity occurring outside the home. Participants (N=263) were sentenced or detained adolescent males at a large correctional facility in New York City, aged 16-18 and predominantly African American and Latino. Data were collected from the baseline interview of an intervention study conducted from 2009-2010. Youth participated in an individually administered, computer-based survey covering a range of topics, such as sexual health history, family relationships, substance use, and exposure to adverse events. Consistent with the literature, our sample of detained youth reported a high degree of SRB and a significant number of adverse experiences. Logistic regression analysis found that total ACE scores do not predict risky sexual behavior, even when controlling for maternal connectedness, substance use, age, and number of days incarcerated/detained. However, every participant endorsed exposure to at least 2 ACEs and 92% endorsed exposure to 4 or more, suggesting that the restriction in range may have obfuscated a relationship between total ACE scores and sexual risk-taking. The new ACE items, including poverty, racial discrimination, and neighborhood violence were prevalent. Additionally, several of the individual ACE items, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, and racial discrimination were independently associated with sexual risk outcomes. Maternal connectedness was negatively correlated with one type of risky sexual behavior—frequency of substance use during sex. Maternal connectedness and total ACE scores were, as predicted, negatively correlated. These findings suggest that our sample of incarcerated youth have experienced such a profound degree of adversity and trauma that perhaps ACE scores alone cannot adequately predict their engagement in risky sex. The fact that so many of the adolescents in the study endorsed the new ACE items also provides strong support for dissemination of the revised ACE inventory. This study highlights the need for greater research on risk and protective factors influencing adolescent SRB, as well as psychosocial correlates of ACEs among at-risk youth. Furthermore, given the syndemic nature of SRB and high prevalence of STIs, HIV, and ACEs in urban communities of color, future research should consider a more comprehensive and integrative approach to preventing both childhood adversity and unwanted sexual risk outcomes. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 6, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 18, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Previous literature has shown that risk factors for delinquency include individual characteristics of impulsivity and risk-taking as well as contextual influences such as neighborhoods, parenting and engagement in physical activity (e.g., exercise, sports). Theory suggests that individual characteristics interact with contextual factors to influence child development, however evidence is limited. The current study examined the interaction between these individual and contextual risks to influence childhood delinquency in a community sample of 89 children ranging from 9 to 12 years of age (M = 10.4, SD = 1.1). Questionnaire measures showed that both caregiver report of impulsivity and self-reported risk-taking were positively associated with self-reported delinquency, yet no interactions with contextual factors were found. When using computer tasks, neither impulsivity nor risk-taking were significantly associated with delinquency. However, a risk-taking by physical activity interaction was found, such that at low levels of physical activity risk-taking was positively related to delinquency, yet at high levels of physical activity, risk-taking and delinquency were unrelated. Thus, programs that involve physical activity may be useful prevention and intervention strategies for risk-taking children.

A central bank is usually assigned two functions: the control of inflation and the maintenance of a safetybanking sector. What are the precise conditions under which trigger strategies from the private sector can solve the time inconsistency problem and induce the central bank to choose zero inflation under a nonstationary natural rate? Can an optimal contract be used together with reputation forces to implement a desired socially optimal monetary policy rule? How to design a truthtelling contract to control the risk taking behaviors of the bank? My dissertation attempts to deal with these issues using three primary methodologies: monetary economics, game theory and optimal stochastic control theory.

Several aspects contribute to road crashes and one important part is the ‘human factor’. This information is interesting but insufficient unless we also try to understand what is meant by the term. Three different features have been defined: errors, lapses and violations and the latter, which is a deliberate act, has been found to be the main contributor to road crashes. The crucial issue is therefore to understand what motivates drivers to commit an act, which puts both themselves and others at risk. The aim of this thesis is to explore the motives behind this behaviour through the use of an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Four different studies were carried out: The first study is qualitative, investigating the intention to violate. The second one assesses speeding in an urban area and dangerous overtaking. In addition to variables within the model, descriptive norms and past behaviour are included. The third study explores what particular beliefs are responsible for the behaviour. The fourth study uses the TPB to predict intention to speed on a rural road and assesses some underlying factors, such as ambivalence and gender. The results of the thesis show that the theory explains 33 to 53% of the variance in intention to violate and that descriptive norm and past behaviour significantly increase the explained variance. Descriptive norm is also related to risk and past behaviour is not only related to intention but also to the variables within the model. The results show that drivers’ beliefs can distinguish between intenders and non-intenders. With regard to attitudes the general conclusion is that the main difference lay in the effect of positive outcomes. Although in a more ‘risky’ situation the behaviour is more controlled by a denial of negative consequences. Finally, the results indicates that in the context of driving violations an expressed low level of control over the behaviour could be interpreted as a form of denial of responsibility rather than an inability to control their own actions. Implications of the current findings for the development of intervention programmes are discussed.