Risk Appetite
10 questions on financial, social, and physical risk. See where you fall on the global risk tolerance spectrum and what it predicts.
10 questions across financial, social, physical, and career risk. Based on Dohmen et al. (2011) and the Global Preferences Survey.
1.How much of a month's salary would you invest in a high-risk, high-reward opportunity if you had the chance?
2.You're offered a 50/50 chance to win $1,000 or lose $500. Do you take it?
3.How willing are you to say something controversial at a dinner party if you believe it's true?
4.How likely are you to approach a stranger you find interesting and start a conversation?
5.Would you try an extreme sport (skydiving, bungee, free climbing) if given the opportunity?
6.How willing are you to try unfamiliar food with unknown ingredients in a foreign country?
7.Would you quit a stable job to start a business with a 20% chance of becoming highly successful?
8.How comfortable are you with uncertainty in your professional life?
9.In general, how willing are you to take risks? (1 = very risk-averse, 5 = very risk-seeking)
10.Looking back, most of the best things in my life came from taking a chance.
Your risk profile
Moderately adventurous
score 50/100 — higher than 50% of people
Risk score
50/100
Global avg
50/100
Moderate
Risk by domain
Risk Tolerance Distribution
Moderate risk tolerance is the most common profile globally and is associated with balanced decision-making. You're more likely to take calculated risks than impulsive ones.
Put It In Context
Risk tolerance varies significantly by culture, age, and gender. The Global Preferences Survey (Falk et al. 2018) surveyed 80,000 people across 76 countries and found that Americans, Australians, and Scandinavians are among the most risk-tolerant populations. Tolerance for risk declines sharply after age 50. Men consistently report higher risk appetite than women across all domains — though the gap narrows significantly when controlling for wealth and financial literacy. Importantly, risk tolerance is domain-specific: someone who skydives may be highly risk-averse with money.
Curiosity Trail — explore next