You can distinguish the two by offering people choices between a sure $50 and a 50-50 bet paying $0 or $100, and see if their behaviour differs from bets with losses.
Given a choice between losing $50 or a 50% chance of losing $100, a risk averse person loses the $50 and the loss-averse person takes the 50% chance of losing $100.
Given a choice between gaining $50 or a 50% chance of gaining $100, a risk averse person chooses to gain the $50 and the loss-averse person doesn’t care which option he gets.
Aren’t humans not so much risk-averse as loss-averse?
Is there a difference, given that there are rather few win-averse people?
You can distinguish the two by offering people choices between a sure $50 and a 50-50 bet paying $0 or $100, and see if their behaviour differs from bets with losses.
Given a choice between losing $50 or a 50% chance of losing $100, a risk averse person loses the $50 and the loss-averse person takes the 50% chance of losing $100.
Given a choice between gaining $50 or a 50% chance of gaining $100, a risk averse person chooses to gain the $50 and the loss-averse person doesn’t care which option he gets.