Big Five personality traits and risky decision-making: A study of behavioural tasks among college students

Introduction: Decision-making is affected by the personality of the individual making the decision. As a fundamental human personality structure, the Big-Five personality traits might significantly impact risky decision-making. The current study investigated the association between the Big-Five traits and risky decision-making among undergraduate college students. Methods: Data was collected from 251 undergraduate college students aged 18 to 25, of whom 89 were male and 164 were female. Risky decision-making was measured in a laboratory using the Iowa Gambling Task and a self-administered scale to evaluate the Big Five personality traits. Results: This study showed that agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness correlated with risky decision-making. However, a significant association between risky decision-making with extraversion and openness was not identified. According to the results, men were more prone to making risky decisions than women. Conclusion: the results highlighted that personality traits influence individuals, particularly neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The results are significant as they help us to understand how personality traits contribute to risk-taking behaviour. More investigation in this field is required, especially regarding the role of the dark personality triad in decision-making.