Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).

Abstract

The present study (N ϭ 86) sought to evaluate a laboratory-based behavioral measure of risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task; BART) and to test associations between this measure and self-report measures of risk-related constructs as well as self-reported real-world risk behaviors. The BART evidenced sound experimental properties, and riskiness on the BART was correlated with scores on measures of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and deficiencies in behavioral constraint. Also, riskiness on the BART was correlated with the self-reported occurrence of addictive, health, and safety risk behaviors, with the task accounting for variance in these behaviors beyond that accounted for by demographics and self-report measures of risk-related constructs. These results indicate that the BART may be a useful tool in the assessment of risk taking.

High trait anxiety is associated with attenuated feedback-related negativity in risky decision making

“…To understand ambiguous decision making and real-world risk taking, the balloon analogue risk task (BART) is a widely used experimental tool [17][18][19]. In this gambling paradigm, participants are asked to pump a balloon on a screen, and each pump is associated either with a reward (positive feedback) or with a balloon burst (negative feedback).…”

“…If the balloon burst, the reward is lost. As a general rule, each successful pump increases the probability of a burst in the next trial; however, this regularity is not transparent for the participants [18]. Participants make a series of choices with increasing risk before they face an external punishment or change their course of action and choose the safe option [17].…”

Elementary school children's associations of antisocial behaviour with risk‐taking across 7–11 years

“…(2010). We found no sex‐difference in risk‐taking development, which contrasted the observational study of Morrongiello and Rennie (1998) but concurred with other studies using the BART to asses risk‐taking (Aklin et al., 2005; Lejuez et al., 2002; MacPherson et al., 2010). …”

“…Note that the reward was nonmonetary and consisted of the total amount of points earned. A child's risk‐taking propensity score was computed by averaging the amount of pumps of nonexploded balloons (Lejuez et al., 2002). …”

“…Other researchers used a computerized task, such as the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART; Lejuez et al. (2002)), to measure risk‐taking (Humphreys & Lee, 2011; MacPherson, Magidson, Reynolds, Kahler, & Lejuez, 2010). MacPherson et al.…”