The risks associated with choices also figure into decision-making. Many decisions that involve procuring a potential reward also engender risks of reward loss or even explicitly negative consequences (punishment). It is of substantial interest why some individuals are prone to make poor quality decisions, sometimes repeatedly and after having directly experienced the negative consequences of their behavior, as in the case of individuals diagnosed with drug or alcohol dependence;48 indeed, risky decision-making may represent a core phenotype associated with substance dependence, and therefore may also be a target for intervention.
