Professor Dulebohn surveyed faculty members in the University of Illinois and University of Texas systems, as well as a national sample of TIAA-CREF participants, to ascertain the attitudinal, demographic, and behavioral factors that explain risk and investment preference. In addition, the survey asked the question of how different methods of presenting risk information affects risk-taking behavior. In addition to the survey data, age, service level, education, job classification, gender, and race were included as control variables. These data are used to test the significance of attitudinal factors, together with the demographic variables, on the risk level of investment allocation options chosen by participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution pension plans. Professor Dulebohn is using factor analysis to determine which factors were related together and explained the largest part of the variance in investor's risk preference. In addition, Professor Dulebohn is using hierarchical OLS regressions to determine significant causes of risky investment behavior.
