Abstract:

Individual risk preferences are one of the main concerns in the psychology of decision-making, and its difference is influenced both by individual factors and culture. Existing research mainly focuses on the cultural classification of collectivism-individualism to study the differences in individual risk preferences, ignoring the influence of material culture. Ecological decision-making and social ecology researchers believe that the ecological environment affects individuals’ economic preferences by shaping material culture (such as subsistence patterns). The analysis of previous literature finds that the two major cultures dominated by different subsistence patterns—sedentary farming and nomadic herding have different effects on individual risk preferences. Individuals from farming cultures may be more risk-averse while individuals belonging to nomadic cultures may be more risk-seeking. Due to the limitations and shortcomings of existing research, this inference is worthy of further causal studies.

Key words: risk preferences, sedentary farming, nomadic herding, material culture, subsistence patterns