Reward and Decision Making
Timed Reward Choice Task
Also called: two-choice impulsivity paradigm, smaller-sooner choice, larger-later reward choice
Measure preference for a smaller reward after 5 seconds or a larger reward after 15 seconds. Participants experience each chosen wait and collect the points; scores show their choices across the session.
4-10 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 1
- Evidence grade
- D
- Registered clinical studies
- 0
after 5 seconds
after 15 seconds
What it measures
Measures preference for smaller rewards after a shorter wait or larger rewards after a longer wait. Participants actually wait 5 or 15 seconds, then collect their points. The primary score is the proportion of smaller-sooner choices.
Constructs
- Reward-delay preference
- Choice impulsivity
- Tolerance of delayed reward
- Preference over repeated choices
Research uses
- Research on reward delay and impulsivity
- Studies comparing real waits with hypothetical choices
- Within-study assessment of changes in reward preference
How the paradigm works
The Timed Reward Choice Task measures preference between a smaller reward after a short wait and a larger reward after a longer wait. Unlike a hypothetical delay-discounting question, the chosen wait happens during the session. The primary score is the share of choices for the smaller-sooner option. This isolates reward-delay choice from the motor stopping measured by inhibition tasks.
More about the paradigm
The two-choice method described by Dougherty and colleagues uses fixed reward amounts and delays, randomly placed shapes, and a second response to collect the available reward. Here a circle offers 5 points after 5 seconds and a square offers 15 points after 15 seconds. The participant waits for the selected option, then presses Collect points. The other option does not add any waiting time. The next choice follows an 800 ms collection message. Two forced practice examples demonstrate each real wait; a question checks the collection rule. The options state their reward and wait throughout.
There are 30 scored choices by default, adjustable from 20 to 60. Left/right placement is balanced and shuffled from a saved seed. The smaller reward is adjustable from 1 to 100 points; the larger is always three times that amount. The 5- and 15-second delays are fixed. The default payment wording states that points are not exchanged for money; a paid setting refers to the study's payment information. The standard session takes about 4 to 10 minutes, depending on choices and response time.
Scores include both preference rates, the longest consecutive larger-later sequence, first- and last-third preferences, collected points, selected and experienced waiting time, and choice and collection times. Only a collected choice with its full recorded wait contributes. Repeating either preference is valid. Incomplete runs, unreadable rows, an incorrect check and background activity are flagged for interpretation.
Scores
- Smaller-Sooner Choice Rate%
- Collected choices of the smaller reward after 5 seconds, divided by all readable collected choices.
- Higher means a stronger preference for the shorter wait
- Larger-Later Choice Rate%
- Collected choices of the larger reward after 15 seconds, divided by all readable collected choices.
- Higher means a stronger preference for the larger delayed reward
- Longest Larger-Later Sequencecount
- Longest uninterrupted sequence of larger-later choices. Missing trial numbers break a sequence.
- Informational
- Smaller-Sooner Rate, First Third%
- Smaller-sooner choices among readable choices in the first third of planned rounds.
- Informational
- Smaller-Sooner Rate, Last Third%
- Smaller-sooner choices among readable choices in the last third of planned rounds.
- Informational
- Points Collectedpoints
- Points from collected choices, reconstructed from the reward unit and fixed 1:3 ratio. Practice is excluded.
- Informational
- Scheduled Waitms
- Sum of the selected 5- or 15-second waits.
- Informational
- Recorded Waitms
- Sum of measured intervals between choosing and enabling collection. Excludes collection response time.
- Informational
- Median Choice Timems
- Median choice time at or above 100 ms.
- Informational
- Median Collection Timems
- Median time from the reward becoming available to collecting it.
- Informational
- Choices Under 100 mscount
- Choices made within 100 ms of the options appearing. A preference can be prepared during the preceding wait.
- Quality check; not excluded
- Collection Check Correct0/1
- 1 for answering that points arrive after waiting and collecting; 0 for the other answer.
- Quality check
- Collected Choicescount
- Readable choices with a recorded full wait and collection.
- Quality check
- Planned Choicescount
- Scored choices set for the session, excluding the two practice examples.
- Informational
- Unreadable Choicescount
- Rows excluded for duplicate numbers, inconsistent settings, missing collection or a wait shorter than the selected delay.
- Quality check
- Choices With Background Activitycount
- Scored choices during which the page lost focus or visibility.
- Review how the waits were experienced
Use and evidence
1 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract. That ranks it 493 of 495 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 2010 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 |
Use grade E
Fewer than 30 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade D
Little published measurement evidence found.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 0
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 0
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 0
Note on the counts: Original labeled fixed-delay version; actual 5/15-second waits; no published norms..
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.22.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Rewards
- A circle offers 5 points after 5 seconds and a square offers 15 points after 15 seconds by default. The smaller reward is a setting from 1 to 100 points; the larger is always three times as much.
- Real waits
- The selected delay is fixed at 5,000 or 15,000 ms. Collection stays disabled until the full wait has elapsed. There is no equalizing delay after the shorter choice.
- Collection
- After the wait, Collect points becomes available. A click or tap adds the reward, followed by an 800 ms result message. Both choice and collection have no response deadline.
- Practice
- Two forced examples, one of each option, with the full real waits and separate points. A check question confirms that the reward must be collected after waiting.
- Choices
- 30 scored choices by default, adjustable from 20 to 60. Smaller-sooner placement is balanced across left and right (within one for odd counts), with order shuffled from the saved seed.
- Scores
- Smaller-sooner choice rate is primary. Also reports larger-later rate, the longest consecutive larger-later sequence, first- and last-third preferences, points, scheduled and recorded waits, and choice and collection times. Percentiles are disabled.
- Devices
- Desktop, tablet and phone by click or tap; minimum touch screen 360 by 640. Background activity is recorded because it may change the experience of waiting.
An original fixed-delay implementation. Compared with Dougherty and colleagues (2009), it labels rewards and delays, uses two practice examples and 30 choices instead of ten and 50, balances positions, and uses a steady collection button instead of flashing. No original software, instructions or artwork are reused.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scores collected choices after their full 5- or 15-second wait from the latest attempt. Repeated smaller-sooner or larger-later choices are valid preferences. Incomplete runs, unreadable waits, a wrong collection check or background activity are flagged for review.
Why these rules
Choice between fixed smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards is the outcome. No choice is correct, and a participant may decide the next preference during a wait. A background tab can change how that wait is experienced; it is recorded for interpretation.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Choices | 30 | 20 to 60 |
| Smaller reward | 5 | 1 to 100 |
| Payment line | Hypothetical points (standard) | Hypothetical points (standard), The study pays for points |
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
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Timed Reward Choice Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Dougherty et al., 2005, 2009), with the standard settings (choices: 30; smaller reward: 5; payment line: Hypothetical points). The main score was smaller-sooner choice rate (collected choices of the smaller reward after 5 seconds, divided by all readable collected choices).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Dougherty, D. M., Mathias, C. W., Marsh, D. M., & Jagar, A. A. (2005). Laboratory behavioral measures of impulsivity. Behavior Research Methods, 37(1), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206401Method overview; abstract consulted.
- Dougherty, D. M., Mathias, C. W., Marsh-Richard, D. M., Furr, R. M., Nouvion, S. O., & Dawes, M. A. (2009). Distinctions in behavioral impulsivity: Implications for substance abuse research. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 8(2), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADT.0b013e318172e488Full two-choice methods section: fixed real delays, rewards and collection.
Source papers
- Dougherty DM, Mathias CW, Marsh-Richard DM, Furr RM, Nouvion SO, Dawes MA (2009). Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 8(2):61–73.Paradigm source, Adolescents and adults
Questions
How long does the Timed Reward Choice Task take?
About 4 to 10 minutes, as listed in the test library.
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?
Smaller-Sooner Choice Rate, Larger-Later Choice Rate, Longest Larger-Later Sequence, Smaller-Sooner Rate, First Third, Smaller-Sooner Rate, Last Third, Points Collected, Scheduled Wait, Recorded Wait, Median Choice Time, Median Collection Time, Choices Under 100 ms, Collection Check Correct, Collected Choices, Planned Choices, Unreadable Choices and Choices With Background Activity. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Timed Reward Choice Task used in research?
1 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract. That ranks it 493 of 495 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade E). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.22.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Timed Reward Choice Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report its test-retest reliability and 0 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade D in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Choices (20 to 60), smaller reward (1 to 100) and payment line (Hypothetical points (standard), The study pays for points). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
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.
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