Balloon Analog Risk Task
Introduction
The Balloon Analog Risk Task, otherwise known as BART, is a computerized decision-making task that is used to assess risk-taking behavior. The BART simulates a real-world situation, involving actual risky behavior, where taking a risk up until a certain point yields a reward. However, if risky behavior is kept up, it results in poorer outcomes. The BART model works best when used with self-reported real-world risk behaviors related to health, safety, and addiction (Lejuez et al., 2002).
Risk-taking behaviors are consciously or unconsciously controlled behaviors that involve a certain degree of danger or harm while also presenting an opportunity to gain some sort of reward. In contemporary life, the risk seems inescapable and pervasive; hence, it is essential to study and measure risk-taking behavior.
The Balloon Analog Risk Task is performed on a computer, where the screen shows a simulation of a small balloon accompanied by a balloon pump. There is a ‘Collect Money’ tab, a permanent money-earned tab, and a tab showing money-earned on the last balloon. Due to its clear design, the Balloon Analog Risk Task requires minimal instructions, and its completion is straightforward.
Figure 1. Visual display of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. ‘Pump up the balloon’ and ‘Collect £££’ are the two available response options. Visual feedback of ‘Balloon number’, ‘Potential earnings’, ‘Number of pumps’ and ‘Total winnings’ are displayed throughout each trial (Hall et al., 2023)
Methods
A computer is used to perform the Balloon Analog Risk Task. During the task, each participant is presented with 90 balloons of 3 different colors. The balloons appear one at a time. Participants are required to click a button labeled ‘Balloon Pump.’ Each click on the balloon pump will increase the size of the balloon and accumulate 5 cents per click in a temporary bank. The participants are not shown the amount being accumulated in their temporary bank. At any time, the participant can press another tab, labeled ‘Collect $,’ to transfer the collected money into a permanent bank.
If the participant wishes to continue pumping the balloon, they can do so, until eventually, the balloon explodes, resulting in the temporary funds resetting to zero and the next balloon showing up. However, if the participant collects the money before the balloon explodes, they can see the amount earned on that particular balloon via the tab labeled ‘Last Balloon.’ The money in the permanent bank will not be lost when a balloon explodes. At the end of the experiment, the participant can collect the reward accumulated in the permanent bank in the form of gift certificates.
Here’s a step by step guide:
Participants begin with an initial screen that explains the rules and objectives of the task. They are informed that their goal is to earn as much money as possible by inflating balloons without causing them to burst.
Each time a participant presses the button to inflate the balloon, the balloon grows larger, and a small monetary reward is added to a temporary account. The reward typically increases incrementally with each pump.
The probability of the balloon exploding increases with each pump. The exact risk is unknown to participants, but they are aware that the risk grows as the balloon becomes larger. If the balloon bursts, all earnings for that balloon are lost
Participants must decide at each step whether to continue inflating the balloon to earn more money or to stop and bank the money accumulated so far. If they choose to stop inflating, the money earned is added to their permanent total, and a new balloon appears on the screen.
The task consists of multiple balloons (e.g., 20-30 trials), allowing researchers to observe patterns in participants' risk-taking behavior across different trials.
Applications
The BART has been used in various fields of research, including psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience. It is particularly useful for studying individual differences in risk-taking behavior and has been applied to investigate:
- Personality Traits: Examining how traits like impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and self-control relate to risk-taking behavior.
- Substance Use: Exploring the relationship between substance use and risk-taking tendencies.
- Mental Health: Investigating how conditions such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD affect decision-making and risk-taking.
- Developmental Studies: Understanding how risk-taking behavior evolves across different age groups, from adolescence to adulthood.
Data Analysis
The primary measure in the BART is the average number of pumps per balloon before a participant chooses to stop or the balloon explodes. This average is used as an index of risk-taking behavior. Higher averages suggest greater risk-taking tendencies, while lower averages indicate more cautious behavior.
Other parameters that can be measured are:
- The total amount of earnings
- The number of exploded balloons
Cosmin
● Test-Retest Reliability
The test-retest reliability of the Balloon Analog Risk Task is adequate over two weeks, r = +.77 (White et al., 2014). Moreover, the 2-week test-retest scores from self-reported risk-taking proclivities range between +.73 to + .96 for self-reported gambling (Weinstock et al., 2004), +.61 to +.95 for self-reported smoking (Chor et al., 2003), and > +.7 for self-reported sedentary activity (Hardy et al., 2007).
● Construct Validity
The construct validity of the BART has been proven, and it has shown correlations with Anti-social Behavior factors (psychopathy) and self-reported impulsivity.
Strengths and Limitations
Summary and Key Points
- Risk-taking behavior is any consciously or unconsciously controlled behavior that involves a certain degree of danger or harm while also presenting an opportunity to gain some form of reward.
- The Balloon Analog Risk Task is a computerized decision-making task that is used to assess risk-taking behavior.
- The participants are asked to perform the BART in 90 trials with three different colored balloons that appear in random order.
- Data is collected for the propensity to take an increased risk in order to gain maximum reward.
The BART has several applications in the real world such as studying risky behavior across all genders and in drivers, patients with brain diseases as well as brain injuries.
References
- Hall, A., Weightman, M., Jenkinson, N., & MacDonald, H. J. (2023). Performance on the balloon analogue risk task and anticipatory response inhibition task is associated with severity of impulse control behaviours in people with Parkinson’s disease. Experimental brain research, 241(4), 1159–1172.
- Chor, D. Faerstein, E., Alves, M. G., & de Souza Lopes, C. (2003). How Reproducible is Self-Reported Information on Exposure to Smoking, Drinking, and Dietary Patterns? Evidence Among Brazilian Adults in the Pro-Saude Study. Sao Paulo Medical Journal, 121(2): 63-6.
- Hardly, L. L., Booth, M. L., & Okely, A. D. (2007). The Reliability of the Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire (ASAQ). Preventive Medicine, 45(1): 71-4.
- 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 Analog Risk Task (BART). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8(2), 75–84.
- Lejuez, C. W., Aklin, W. M., Jones, H. A., Richards, J. B., Strong, D. R., Kahler, C. W., & Read, J. P. (2003). The balloon analog risk task (BART) differentiates smokers and nonsmokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11(1), 26–33.
- Lighthall, N. R., Mather, M., &Gorlick, M. A. (2009). Acute Stress Increases Sex Differences in Risk Seeking in the Balloon Analog Risk Task.PLoS One, 4 (7).
- Sela, T., Kilim, A., &Lavidor, M. (2012). Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Increases Risk-Taking Behavior in the Balloon Analog Risk Task.Frontiers in Neuroscience, 6: 22.
- Strenziok, M., Pulaski, S., Krueger, F., Zamboni, G., Clawson, D., & Grafman, J. (2011). Regional Brain Atrophy and Impaired Decision Making on the Balloon Analog Risk Task in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia.Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 24(2), 59–67.
- Vaca, F. E., Walthall, J. M., Ryan, S., Moriarty-Daley, A., Riera, A., Crowley, M. J., &Mayes, L. C. (2013). Adolescent balloon analog risk task and behaviors that influence risk of motor vehicle crash injury. Annuals of Advances in Automotive Medicine, 57: 77-88.
- Weinstock, J., Whelan, J. P, & Meyers, A. W. (2004). Behavioral Assessment of Gambling: An Application of the Timeline Followback Method. Psychological Assessment, 16(1): 72-80.
- White, T. L., Lejuez, C. W., & De Wit, H. (2008). Test-Retest Characteristics of the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16(6): 565-570.
- Zuckerman, M., Eysenck, S. B., & Eysenck, H. J. (1978). Sensation seeking in England and America: Cross-cultural, age, and sex comparisons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46 (1): 139–149.
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