ABSTRACT
Decision making requires one to compare, evaluate and manage risks. Therefore, decision making and risk-taking are closely related: optimal decision making depends on balanced risk-taking behaviour. The difficulty in decision making observed in the Partial Androgen Deficiency of the Aging Male PADAM syndrome and the decrease of risky behaviour with age may also be related to a decrease of free testosterone which influences dopaminergic activity. It is interesting to note that military and commercial pilots also present a different risk profile, with the common exception for impulsiveness scores, which is a trait considered to be undesirable in the decision making process. Decision making can be affected by risk propensity that seems to be also self-regulated at the individual level. Hence, BASE jump activity seems to satisfy their need for risk-taking and the more stressful the jump the more satiated they seem to be.
