Salience as a Dimension of Individual and Group Risk Taking

Two components of the salience of hypothetical dilemmas, relevance and cost, were examined in their effects upon reported willingness of groups and their individual members to make risky decisions. Forty-eight undergraduates read and discussed hypothetical dilemmas, set in either familiar or unfamiliar settings at two levels of cost. Individuals and groups indicated the highest level of risk acceptable before making the risky choice. The combination of relevance and low cost produced greatest risk, together with a risky shift from initial individual responses to group consensus. The results suggested that the two factors are jointly important in decisions involving risk.