A recent series of studies put participants in scenarios where they were either included in or excluded from a group, then tempted them with high-risk/high-reward gambles. The people who felt left out were more likely to take a risky bet. Similarly, the researchers found that people who reported feeling socially excluded in their lives more often went to the track and casinos and had more money in high-risk investments. They posit that the financial risk-taking may be a way to compensate for a lack of social opportunity.
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