The researchers studied how people's willingness to take risks is influenced by their wealth and the risks they face. They found that as people have more money, they become less afraid of taking risks. This goes against the idea that everyone is equally scared of risks. They also discovered that people's personal characteristics don't really predict how risk-averse they are. Instead, it's more about the environment they're in. People who are more likely to have uncertain incomes or run out of money easily tend to be more scared of risks.