How Intergroup Competition Influences Risk-taking Behavior

Adolescence is a period of high risk behaviors and competition is an inherent way of interaction between peers.Faced with competition and adventure in real life,individuals are usually embedded in social groups rather than an independent individual(Masclet,Colombier,Denant-Boemont,&Loheac,2009;Shupp&Williams,2008).Intergroup competition often has an important influence on the decision-making and behavior of the team and its members(Zhu,Wang,Lv,&Li,2016).However,the effect of intergroup competition on risk-taking behavior in adolescence and its psychological mechanism are still unclear.It has been found that challenge-threat cognitive appraisal is an intermediate factor between individual competition and risk-taking behavior(Hangen,Elliot,&Jamieson,2016).Meanwhile,competition and its results will also affect individual efficacy(Mulvey&Ribbens,1999;Wu,2001).And self-efficacy and collective efficacy,as an internal or external support,may have an impact on the challenge-threat cognitive appraisal and subsequent behavioral tendency after competition(Zarankin,2009;Morisset,Terrade,&Somat,2010).Therefore,the current study aimed at examining the influence of group-based competition on adolescent risk-taking behavior and the role of challenged-threat cognition,self-efficacy and collective efficacy in the effect of intergroup competition on adolesccent risk-taking behavior.Our study includes two experiments.In the experiment 1,competition was manipulated by instruction and group-based competition task,and the Challenge and Threat States Appraisal Questionnaire(CTSAQ)and Columbia Card Task(CCT)were used to investigate the effect of adolescents' group-based competition on risk-taking behavior and the role of challenge-threat cognition.The result showed that(1)group-based competition influenced adolescent emotional risk preference:teenagers from the losing group were more risky,while adolescents who won in competition were more risk-averse;(2)challenged-threat cognition played a mediating effects between intergroup competition and risk-taking behavior.Experiment 2 through the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Collective Efficacy Scale surveyed teenagers before and after the competition manipulation,which was followed by the CTSAQ and CCT.Aiming to exploring the role of challenged-threat cognition,self-efficacy and collective efficacy in the effect of intergroup competition on adolescent risk-taking behavior.The result showed that:(1)After task manipulation,the scores of self-efficacy and collective efficacy were significantly higher in the group that won the competition.In the group of competition failure,only the collective efficacy posttest was lower than the pretest.(2)the mechanism of intergroup competition on risk-taking behavior includes three paths:?challenge-threat cognition played a mediating effects between intergroup competition and risk-taking behavior;? collective efficacy and self-efficacy mediated the association between intergroup competition and adolescent risk-taking behavior;?collective efficacy and challenged-threat cognition played a role in concealing the influence of adolescents' inter-group competition on risk-taking behavior.In summary,this study contributed to the understanding of the effects of group-based experience on teenagers' risk preference and uncovered the mechanism underlying the relationship between intergroup competition and adolescent risk-taking behaviors:(1)intergroup competition can directly influence teenagers' risk-taking behavior.Teenagers who fail in group-based competition are more risky,while those who win in competition are more risk-averse.(2)Winning the intergroup competition can improve teenagers' self-efficacy and collective efficacy,while losing the competition can only reduce their collective efficacy.(3)the role of challenged-threat cognition,self-efficacy and collective efficacy in the effect of intergroup competition in adolescent risk-taking behavior:? Challenge-threat cognition affects the relationship between competition and risk-taking behavior among adolescent groups.?There are different mechanisms in which the association between collective efficacy and the relationship between intergroup competition and adolescent risk-taking behavior:intergroup competition negatively predicts adolescent risk-taking behavior through the chain mediating effect from collective efficacy to self-efficacy;at the same time,through the chain effect of collective efficacy and challenge-threat cognition,the risky behavior of adolescents was positively predicted.This shows that collective efficacy is the key factor of intergroup competition causing the change of adolescents' internal and external cognition and subsequent risk-taking tendency.