Do adolescents really love taking risks? Common wisdom says yes, but the research is starting to indicate the opposite. Why do we become more risk averse as we age and what do changes in our brain have to do with it? How and why does the weather or your level of thirst affect your willingness to take risks? Would an economist call your decisions rational? How does rationality evolve as you age? And will having an extra beer (or ten) make you irrational?
BIO
Agnieszka Tymula is a neuroeconomist and lecturer at the University of Sydney and a Visiting Faculty at New York University. Agnieszka’s work focuses on the biological foundations of economic decision-making. She has studied the effects of age, gender, neuroanatomy, socio-economic variables and metabolic state on choice. Her work has been funded through grants from the Australian Research Council, AXA Research Fund and Templeton Foundation, and published in journals including PNAS, Management Science, the American Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Neuroscience. Her research has been featured in Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News, Businessweek and the ABC. Agnieszka’s ultimate goal is to relate insights from her research to policy.
