Although the risk-taking can potentially result in positive and negative outcomes, most of the researchers focused on its negative, not positive manifestations. Recently, Duell and Steinberg proposed a framework that clarifies the features of positive risk-taking. Research comparing positive and negative risk-taking increased and new measures have been developed. The presented study was designed to examine how the construct of positive risk-taking differs or overlaps with its opposite, negative risk-taking, and whether both are predicted by the same or different factors. Two hundred fifty eight (258) adolescents and young adults (aged 16-29) participated in the study. We tested self-reported sensitivity to reward and punishment, self-control, tolerance to ambiguity, trait anxiety, and gender as possible predictors of positive and negative risk-taking. We also referred both types of risk-taking to domain-specific risk-taking. We found that positive risk-taking is driven by sensitivity to reward and tolerance to ambiguity, and occurs especially in the social domain. Negative risk-taking is driven by gender, sensitivity to reward and (low) sensitivity to punishment, and occurs in all domains except social. Results indicate that positive risk-taking is chosen for exploration and personal growth by people who look for rewards in the social world and is done in a socially accepted way. Negative risk-taking is chosen by people who are not discouraged by severe negative effects and look for rewards outside existing norms.

Purpose: According to current developmental neuroscience, adolescence is a period of heightened sensitivity to rewards that results in the increased tendency towards risk. This paper presents the current state of knowledge on the consequences of adolescent sensitivity to rewards and indicates directions for future research. The following sections describe how sensitivity to rewards can be directed towards risk-taking, safe or prosocial behaviour, and improved cognitive performance, depending on different task demands and various social contexts. Views: Studies on adolescent behaviour conducted from the dual systems perspective indicate that heightened sensitivity to rewards can constitute vulnerability. The results gathered in this paper, however, demonstrate that in several situations adolescent sensitivity to rewards can be redirected from risk-taking towards safe or prosocial behaviour, or can result in the increased cognitive performance. Particularly interesting are the findings showing that individual differences in neural reward-related activity during risk and social dilemma tasks performed in a laboratory make it possible to predict risky behaviours (e.g. substance use, skipping school) and depressive symptoms, one year after the study. Conclusions: Investigating consequences of reward sensitivity in various tasks and diverse social contexts can shed more light on the nature of adolescent behaviour and lead to the development of the dual systems perspective. Key words: adolescence, risk-taking, reward sensitivity, adaptive behaviour, dual systems models. StreszczenieCel: Zgodnie z aktualnym stanem wiedzy w badaniach neurorozwojowych (developmental neuroscience) adolescencja jest okresem szczegól-nego uwrażliwienia na nagrody, co może skutkować m.in. skłonnością do podejmowania ryzyka. Artykuł koncentruje się na różnych konsekwencjach uwrażliwienia na nagrody i wskazuje możliwe kierunki przyszłych badań. W kolejnych częściach ukazano, jak obecność nagród może oddziaływać na zachowanie adolescentów zależnie od właściwości wykonywanego zadania i kontekstu społecznego. Poglądy: Wiele badań nad specyfiką zachowania adolescentów, podejmowanych w kontekście dominujących obecnie modeli dualnych (dual systems models), koncentruje się na negatywnych skutkach zdrowotnych i społecznych zwiększonego uwrażliwienia na nagrody. Badania opisane w tym artykule ukazują tymczasem szereg uwarunkowań sytuacyjnych, w których obecność nagród nie sprzyja podejmowaniu ryzyka, lecz zachowaniom bezpiecznym i prospołecznym, a także większej wydolności poznawczej. Szczególnie interesujące wydają się wyniki wskazujące, że różnice indywidualne w aktywności układu nagrody podczas wykonywania zadań skłaniających do ryzyka i działań prospołecznych w laboratorium pozwalają przewidywać występowanie zachowań ryzykownych (np. używki, wagarowanie) i objawów depresyjnych rok po badaniu.Wnioski: Badania nad konsekwencjami uwrażliwienia na nagrody w różnych zadaniach i kontekstach społecznych pozwalają rzucić więcej światła na uwarunkow...

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backgroundAdolescence and young adulthood are frequently characterised by a strong propensity to take risks. Yet, empirical data shows that personality traits, type and features of risk measures, or presence of additional incentives can significantly influence one's risk-taking tendency. Our aim was to investigate young people's risk-taking and point out when and how individual and situational factors may increase or decrease their risk-taking propensity. participants and procedureParticipants were adolescents and emerging adults (N = 173, age range: 13-30). Each completed two behavioural risk measures ("hot" and "cold" decision tasks) in two conditions, with or without financial incentives. Questionnaires assessing self-declared risk-taking, sensation seeking, and impulsivity were also used. Statistical analyses were conducted with gender and age as additional factors. resultsIn "hot" risk tasks all participants risked the same, while the tendency to take risks in "cold" tasks was higher for older participants, especially in the presence of incentives. Males risked more than females, apart from "hot" incentivised tasks where no gender differences were found. Sensation seeking and impulsivity were significant predictors of risk-taking in "hot" incentivised tasks, while performance in "cold" non-incentivised tasks depended on sensation seeking only. conclusionsOur results show that risk-taking is not a unitary phenomenon, and young people are not universal risk-takers. Certain personality traits seem to predispose this group to taking risks, but only in some circumstances (e.g. "hot" decisions). Factors such as task context or additional incentives can not only increase but also decrease risk-taking in young people, resulting in more caution on their behalf.