Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)
Press Space to pump and Enter to cash out; earn points by cashing out before the balloon explodes to assess risk preference.
Gambling Risk Notice
This task is an educational experiment. If you or someone you know is experiencing gambling-related problems, please seek professional help.
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Overview
Balances pumping versus cashing out to measure risk preference and exploration strategy.
Instructions
After practice, proceed to formal trials: Space to pump, Enter to cash out. Aim to cash out before explosion.
Outputs
Adjusted pumps (mean pumps on non-exploded trials — the standard BART index), mean pumps across all trials, total points, explosion rate, cash‑out rate, plus per‑trial records.
Export
CSV/JSON export is available for further analysis.
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Implementation
Each round has a random explosion threshold drawn uniformly from 1 to 64 pumps; each pump adds 5 points to the round's pot, and cashing out banks it while an explosion forfeits the round. Note that the original BART uses a 1–128 threshold, so this version is riskier and should be interpreted accordingly. Also note that each pump here adds a constant 5 points, unlike the original BART's increasing 1, 2, 3… cents per pump — this changes the optimal stopping strategy, so absolute pump counts are not directly comparable to the original paradigm. A practice block (6 trials) and a formal block (24 trials) are included; export supported.
Key metrics
Adjusted pumps — the mean number of pumps on trials where the balloon did not explode — is the primary index, following Lejuez et al. (2002); exploded trials are excluded because their pump counts are truncated by the explosion threshold. Mean pumps across all trials, total points, explosion rate, and cash-out rate are reported as secondary metrics.
References
- Lejuez, C. W., Read, J. P., Kahler, C. W., Richards, J. B., Ramsey, S. E., Stuart, G. L., Strong, D. R., & Brown, R. A. (2002). Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8(2), 75-84. 10.1037/1076-898X.8.2.75
- White, T. L., Lejuez, C. W., & de Wit, H. (2008). Test-retest characteristics of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16(6), 565-570. 10.1037/a0014083
- Bornovalova, M. A., Cashman-Rolls, A., O'Donnell, J. M., Ettinger, K., Richards, J. B., de Wit, H., & Lejuez, C. W. (2009). Risk taking differences on a behavioral task as a function of potential reward/loss magnitude and individual differences in impulsivity and sensation seeking. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 93(3), 258-262. 10.1016/j.pbb.2008.10.023
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About This Experiment
This experiment is an educational adaptation for demonstration purposes. It is not a clinical diagnostic tool. Results reflect your performance in this specific session and should not be interpreted as an assessment of your cognitive abilities.
Data Privacy
Your experiment data is processed and stored locally in your browser. No data is uploaded to any server unless you explicitly export it.
