Optimal risky choice in humans: Effects of amount of variability

► Prior research has shown that risky choice in humans for monetary and other outcomes can be predicted by an optimal risk-sensitive foraging model (the energy-budget rule) when examined under experimentally arranged positive and negative resource budgets. ► In most prior human studies, participants were given choices between options delivering either a constant (fixed) or variable outcome amount. ► The present study investigated whether the predictions of the model would extend to humans' choices for monetary outcomes when both options were variable. ► Overall, the results from this study provide further evidence that the energy-budget rule may have broad applicability and that it can extend to human risky choice between multiple variable options.