Columbia Card Task

The Columbia Card Task (CCT) is a psychological experiment designed to measure risk-taking behavior and decision-making under uncertainty. This computerized task presents participants with virtual cards that can yield gains or losses, allowing researchers to study how people make decisions when facing potential risks and rewards.

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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About the Columbia Card Task

The Columbia Card Task was developed by researchers at Columbia University to study decision-making under risk. It has been widely used in psychological research to understand how people evaluate potential gains and losses, and how emotional and cognitive factors influence risky decisions. The task provides valuable insights into individual differences in risk tolerance and decision-making strategies.

About this experiment

The CCT assesses two main components of decision making: information use and risk taking. By varying the number of loss cards, the amount of loss, and the gain per card, researchers can understand how different factors influence an individual's willingness to take risks.

How to Play

  • Click on a card to turn it over. Each safe card adds to your round total.
  • You can choose to stop at any time and bank your points for the round.
  • If you turn over a loss card, the round ends immediately and you lose the specified amount of points.
  • Try to maximize your total score across all rounds.

References

  • Figner, B., Mackinlay, R. J., Wilkening, F., & Weber, E. U. (2009). Affective and deliberative processes in risky choice: Age differences in risk taking in the Columbia Card Task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(3), 709-730. 10.1037/a0014983
  • Sochat, V. V., Eisenberg, I. W., Enkavi, A. Z., Li, J., Bissett, P. G., & Poldrack, R. A. (2016). The Experiment Factory: Standardizing behavioral experiments. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 610. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00610
  • Buelow, M. T. (2015). Predicting performance on the Columbia Card Task: Effects of personality characteristics, mood, and executive functions. Assessment, 22(2), 178-187. 10.1177/1073191114539383

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have another question? Let us know.

What is the difference between the hot and cold CCT?

In the "hot" version outcomes unfold card by card and you can stop at any moment; in the "cold" version you decide in advance how many cards to flip. Hot versions capture dynamic risk taking, cold versions planned risk taking.

What does my performance reflect?

The number of cards you flip indexes risk taking in this context. Researchers such as Figner and colleagues use it to separate dynamic from planned risk preferences.

Is a high score good or bad?

Neither. Risk taking is adaptive in some contexts and costly in others; the task measures tendency, not the quality of your judgment.

Who uses this paradigm?

It is used in behavioral economics and psychology research on adolescent risk taking, emotion, and framing, where described gambles feel too artificial.

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.

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