The role of intelligence in risk taking behavior among females

Pages: 374-376
Nirmala Loung Poorunder (Department of DBML. SBMF, University of Technology, Mauritius, UTM)
Poonam R. Das (Department of Psychology, St. Johns College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh)

The purpose of the study was to explore the role of intelligence in risk taking among females. It is often assumed that females take less risk as compared to males. Another important exploration was to verify whether the degree of risk differs according to the level of intelligence. The participants were 240 females aged 20-35 years (inclusive of students, working, non-working, single, and married). The mean age was 27.5. They were assessed for Intelligence with Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven) and for Risk with Choice Dilemma Questionnaire (adapted version Kogan and Wallach) simultaneously. The data was statistically analyzed with Chi square. There was significant difference regarding levels of intelligence and risk taking. It was concluded that subjects in the category of definitely above average take high risk .As risk taking and decision making ability go hand in hand , therefore more subjects in the category of definitely below average take low risk. But subjects who were found intellectually superior take high and low risk equally.