Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) Scale

Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) Scale is a psychometric scale that assesses general and domain-specific dimensions of risk preference: financial decisions (separately for investing versus gambling), health/safety, recreational, ethical, and social decisions. Respondents rate the likelihood that they would engage in domain-specific risky activities.

Items

1. Admitting that your tastes are different from those of a friend.
2. Going camping in the wilderness.
3. Betting a day’s income at the horse races.
4. Investing 10% of your annual income in a moderate growth mutual fund.
5. Drinking heavily at a social function.
6. Taking some questionable deductions on your income tax return.
7. Disagreeing with an authority figure on a major issue.
8. Betting a day’s income at a high-stake poker game.
9. Having an affair with a married man/woman.
10. Passing off somebody else’s work as your own.
11. Going down a ski run that is beyond your ability.
12. Investing 5% of your annual income in a very speculative stock.
13. Going whitewater rafting at high water in the spring.
14. Betting a day’s income on the outcome of a sporting event
15. Engaging in unprotected sex.
16. Revealing a friend’s secret to someone else.
17. Driving a car without wearing a seat belt.
18. Investing 10% of your annual income in a new business venture.
19. Taking a skydiving class.
20. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
21. Choosing a career that you truly enjoy over a more secure one. 11
22. Speaking your mind about an unpopular issue in a meeting at work.
23. Sunbathing without sunscreen.
24. Bungee jumping off a tall bridge.
25. Piloting a small plane.
26. Walking home alone at night in an unsafe area of town.
27. Moving to a city far away from your extended family.
28. Starting a new career in your mid-thirties.
29. Leaving your young children alone at home while running an errand.
30. Not returning a wallet you found that contains $200.

Instructions

Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (Adult) Scale — RT scale:

For each of the following statements, please indicate the likelihood that you would engage in the described activity or behavior if you were to find yourself in that situation. Provide a rating from Extremely Unlikely to Extremely Likely, using the following scale: Extremely Unlikely, Moderately Unlikely, Somewhat Unlikely, Not Sure, Somewhat Likely, Moderately Likely, Extremely Likely

Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (Adult) Scale — RP subscale

People often see some risk in situations that contain uncertainty about what the outcome or consequences will be and for which there is the possibility of negative consequences. However, riskiness is a very personal and intuitive notion, and we are interested in your gut level assessment of how risky each situation or behavior is.

For each of the following statements, please indicate how risky you perceive each situation. Provide a rating from Not at all Risky to Extremely Risky, using the following scale: Not at all Risky, Slightly Risky, Somewhat Risky, Moderately Risky, Risky, Very Risky, Extremely Risky

Response options

A 7-point Likert scale with all response options labeled (see instructions).

Scale items

Reference