Contrary to the expectation that adolescents are inevitably drawn to risk, such studies show that teens tend to be more cautious, opting more often for the small sums of guaranteed income, compared with their younger peers. "When we provide adolescents with the opportunity to avoid taking risks, they actually choose the safe option more often than children," says Ivy Defoe, an assistant professor in the department of child development and education at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, who recently published a paper reviewing the scientific studies of adolescent risk-taking.