Risk-taking behavior occurs when an individual chooses to engage in a game
of chance. Although the outcomes of these games are completely random, many
individuals believe that they can exercise some control over the outcomes.
The present study examined the extent to which five undergraduate roulette
players would pay additional money for opportunities to engage in an illus
ory activity that had no influence on the game's outcome, i.e., choosing ra
ndom numbers rather than having the experimenter choose them. All five subj
ects engaged in this type of activity, and the extent to which they did was
linearly related to the player's winnings. These findings may suggest why
people continue to gamble when the odds of winning are against them.