The role of framing effects in performance on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)

This study examined the impact of framing effects on performance in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Seventy-two undergraduate participants were assigned to play the BART as either a gains task in which they had to pump up an animated balloon in order to win money (Group GBART) or as a losses task in which pumping up the balloon was necessary to avoid losing money (Group LBART). Each group went through the BART three times, playing for themselves, for their best friend, and for a charity president. Although there was no effect of the recipient on BART performance, individuals in the LBART group showed riskier performance (pumped up the balloon more) than GBART participants. Furthermore, GBART performance was significantly correlated with scores on the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale while LBART scores were not. These findings support the idea that framing effects can affect performance on behavioral tasks aimed at measuring personality traits.