Would you eat a ghost pepper for a prize? - Dan Kwartler

Welcome to Risky Business,

the game where we find out how far you’ll go to win a mystery prize!

I’m your host, Will Baywontbay,

and today’s contestants are 21-year-old Imani,

16-year-old Johann, and 12-year-old Rachel.

Our first challenge is simple:

will you eat the cookie on your podium?

Two of you have sugar cookies,

but one was made with painfully spicy ghost peppers.

As a reminder, our players aren’t influenced by seeking audience approval

since Risky Business never gets televised!

And that’s risky.

Now let’s see what Predicto-Bot 9000 thinks our contestants will do.

Like most daily choices,

this challenge involves weighing risks against rewards.

But since our grand prize is a mystery,

the contestants don’t know half of this equation.

People are usually opposed to taking risks for uncertain rewards.

However, Rachel may have an advantage.

People aged 12 to 18 face a lot of unfamiliar circumstances,

and one of the primary ways they learn to navigate new environments

is by taking risks.

This means Johann and Rachel are already primed to risk it all.

But research shows that younger adolescents are less likely

to shy away from uncertain rewards.

This could be because the brain regions associated with decision making

are still developing.

Or perhaps they’ve simply experienced less failure overall,

making them less afraid of negative outcomes.

Whatever the answer, this doesn’t mean young people take risks impulsively.

In fact, one decision making study

found that while 8 to 12 year olds gambled on unknown options

more than older participants, they still hesitated to do so.

Well, it looks like no one here hesitated to bite their cookie— 

and Johann’s bit back!

Hopefully our mystery prize will be a lifetime supply of milk.

Speaking of prizes, you’ll have a chance to win one in our next challenge!

This swimming pool is full of honey,

and you’ll have to swim through it to grab your $100 prize box!

While you deliberate,

let’s see what the PB-9000 has to say.

People are generally attracted to new experiences,

and it’s highly unlikely that our contestants

have ever gone swimming in honey.

Some research even suggests new experiences can trigger brain activity

similar to getting a reward,

regardless of how pleasant that experience is.

That said, I think Imani has a few disadvantages.

We already know adolescents frequently take risks to learn about the world.

Well, that same drive makes them especially attracted to new experiences.

And at 16 years old, Johann is in peak reward sensitivity range,

meaning he’s likely to over value the prize.

Conversely, Imani’s longer life experience means she’s able to build

a robust internal model to simulate her choices’ potential outcomes.

Generally, this helps adults make complex decisions

with long-term consequences.

But more experience can also lead to more worries.

And some studies have found people struggling with anxiety

tend to give extra weight to potential negative outcomes,

even if they’re unlikely.

Thanks, PB.

As predicted, while Johann and Rachel took the plunge,

this situation was too sticky for our oldest competitor.

That takes us to our final challenge!

To see the big prize, our contestants will have to cross this balance beam

without falling into the pit of poison ivy.

And to make things even spicier, we’ve brought their schoolmates to watch!

What do you think will happen, PB?

Younger people often discount the long-term consequences of their choices,

so Rachel might not be as worried about the poison ivy,

But Johann is driven by an even stronger influence.

During adolescence, our desire for group acceptance is at an all-time high,

and this can lead people to take surprising risks

to secure the respect of their peers.

This is especially true from ages 14 to 16,

when the brain regions responsible for emotional control are more developed

than those handling cognitive control.

What's more, this cognitive control is weaker

when adolescents know their peers are watching.

So with his friends standing by, Johann is very likely to risk it all.

Well, I’m excited to see— oh uh.

I’m being told there’s a bear in the honey pool?!

Uh, we’ll be right back!