Facial expressions may have different effects on cognitive processes: A fearful expression may divert attention to the context, signaling the existence of a potential threat, whereas an angry face, as a source of the threat, may attract the observer's attention (Williams et al., 2005). Several studies have provided supporting evidence that fearful facial expressions enhance early-level visual perception by increasing contrast sensitivity (e.g., Phelps et al., 2006), facilitate memory for contextual components (e.g., Davis et al., 2011), and improve efficient visual search for target objects (e.g., Becker, 2009). Building on these findings, this study aims to examine the effects of different facial expressions on a different domain, namely, risk-taking behavior, using the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART; Lejuez et al., 2002). In two experiments (Experiment 1: between-subjects design; Experiment 2: within-subjects design), participants were shown a facial expression (an angry, fearful, or neutral face) before each trial in the BART. It was hypothesized that exposure to fearful facial expressions (which may serve as a cue for a potential threat, i.e., balloon explosion) would decrease risk-taking behavior compared to the other conditions. Overall, risk-taking trends were in the expected direction: Participants in the angry expression condition tended to take more risks, while those in the fearful expression condition showed a tendency to avoid risks, suggesting that facial expressions with different communicative values have the potential to affect decision-making processes as well. The findings were discussed in the frame of different theoretical approaches to emotion, and suggestions for future research were provided.