Abstract: As economy is developing rapidly, people encountered more and more problems associated with risk situation. This research analyzed the relationships among three variables: the individual achievement motive, the behavioral reaction in risk situations, and the opportunity threat perception. The research used a questionnaire design, which was consisted of scales for measuring the achievement motive, behavioral reaction to a lottery game, and opportunity threat perception. The participants came from three universities in Beijing and Chongqing (N=262). The results showed that: a. The"evading failures" component in the achievement motive significantly influenced the individual reaction in risk situations and the opportunity threat perception ( p <0.05); b. Individuals at different levels of the opportunity threat perception behaved differently in risk situations ( p <0.01); The opportunity threat perception was significantly correlated with behavioral variables ( p <0.05); c. Four different patterns of perceptive combinations were found, e.g., high opportunity low threat and so on. So opportunity threat perception may be a two dimensional construct.

Key words: risk situations, achievement motive, opportunity threat perception