How long does the Balloon Risk Task take?
About 5 to 9 minutes, as listed in the test library.
Decision Making
Balloon Risk Task
Measure risk taking with pump-or-collect choices on balloons that pop at random points, scored by adjusted average pumps.
Useful for risk-taking, reward sensitivity, impulsive-choice, and intervention research.
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
Executive function5-9 minUntimed
PUMP
CASH
+8
Temporary bank
Explosion riskCash-out value
Pump for points or cash out
What this task measures
Measures risk taking as participants pump balloons for points and decide when to collect before a pop.
Core constructs
- Risk taking
- Reward sensitivity
- Impulsivity
- Decision making under uncertainty
Research fit
- Risk-taking research
- Substance-use and addiction studies
- Impulsivity batteries
- Within-study group comparison
Paradigm overview
Balloon Risk measures risk taking. Each press of Pump adds 5 points to the current balloon. Participants can collect the points at any time, but if the balloon pops first, its points are lost. The task shows the outcome after every balloon.
As in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task of Lejuez and colleagues (2002), each balloon pops at a point drawn at random from 1 to 128 pumps. The chance of a pop is 1 in 128 on the first pump and rises with each pump until a pop is certain at pump 128. The average pop point is about 64 pumps. Pop points come from a seeded generator and are saved with the trial data. The standard task has 30 balloons.
The main score is the adjusted average pumps: the mean number of pumps on balloons that did not pop. Scores also include the explosion rate, total points, adjusted pumps for each block of 10 balloons, and the change in pumps across the task.
Key scoring outputs
Adjusted Average Pumps
pumpsMean pumps on balloons that did not pop.
Higher means more risk taking
Explosion Rate
proportionShare of balloons that popped.
Informational
Total Points
pointsPoints collected across all balloons.
Informational
Risk Escalation
pumps per balloonChange in pumps from one balloon to the next, from a straight-line fit over balloons that did not pop.
Positive values mean rising risk taking
Adjusted Pumps by Block
pumpsAdjusted average pumps within each block of 10 balloons, reported as adjustedPumpsBlock1, adjustedPumpsBlock2 and so on.
Informational
Task design as built
The trial sequence participants see, as the test runs in ConductCognition. Settings a researcher can change are listed below.
- Pump
- Each pump adds 5 points to the current balloon. Collect banks them; a pop loses them.
- Pop point
- Drawn at random from 1 to 128 pumps for each balloon and saved with the data.
- Feedback
- The outcome of each balloon shows for 1.5 seconds.
The original task also used balloons with lower pop limits and paid money for each pump. This version uses one balloon type, with pop points from 1 to 128 pumps, and points.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of balloons | 30 | 15 to 60 |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Participant devices
- Task text: English and Italian.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite this test
ConductCognition versions: task version 2.0.0, scoring version 2.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- 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. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.8.2.75
- Compagne, C., Mayer, J. T., Gabriel, D., et al. (2023). Adaptations of the balloon analog risk task for neuroimaging settings: A systematic review. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1237734Describes the balloon types and payment of the original task.
Source papers
Lejuez and colleagues (2002): Balloon Analogue Risk Task with random pop points from 1 to 128 pumps and adjusted average pumps.
Paradigm sourceAdults
Research FAQ
Common questions about this online cognitive test
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Adjusted Average Pumps, Explosion Rate, Total Points, Risk Escalation and Adjusted Pumps by Block. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Number of balloons (15 to 60). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
The test's own text is in English and Italian. Italian participant pages come with yearly plans.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
Run this test in your next study
Start free with 10 free participants on any test, then use participant credits or a yearly plan.
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