An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Digit Ratio, Illusion of Control, and Risk-Taking Behavior Among Chinese College Students

Previous studies on the relationship between digit ratio and risk-taking mainly focused on western subjects. Moreover, no researcher has examined the concurrent effect of digit ratio and illusion of control on gambling behavior. This exploratory study investigates the relationship between digit ratio, illusion of control and risk-taking behavior of Chinese subjects. Sixty-six students from a Chinese university were invited to answer a questionnaire and play a purposefully-designed betting game. The results show that the subjects’ risk-taking level, measured in terms of average betting amount, is negatively correlated to their digit ratio but not to their illusion of control score. Moreover, there is no significant association between the subjects’ digit ratio and illusion of control score. These preliminary findings will have useful implications to gaming regulators and businesses.