Risking Treasure: Testing Loss Aversion in an Adventure Game

Loss aversion is a cognitive bias in which the negative feelings associated with prospective losses have a greater magnitude than the positive feelings of winning equivalent gains. Although well studied in behavioural economics, there is little understanding of whether and how it arises in game contexts. In games, the 'magic circle' may free players from their held attitudes, especially because in-game losses and gains are virtual. On the other...