Decision-Making Experiment: Choices between Gambles

This is a study of decision making. On each trial, you will read descriptions of gambles and decide which one you would prefer to play. You should try to make the best decisions you can.

Email address:
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Country:
Age: You must be over 18 years to participate.
Are you Male or Female?
          Female
      OR
          Male

Education (in years).  
  If you are a college graduate, put 16.
  If you have a Ph.D., put 20.
Education:  Years.

Now, look at the first choice, No. 1, below.   Would you rather play: 

        A: fifty-fifty chance of winning either $100 or $0 (nothing), 
OR
        B: fifty-fifty chance to win either $35 or $25.

Think of probability as the number of tickets in a bag containing 100 tickets, divided by 100. Gamble A has 50 tickets that say $100 and 50 that say $0, so the probability to win $100 is .50 and the probability to get $0 is .50. If someone reaches in bag A, half the time they might win $0 and half the time $100. But in this study, you only get to play a gamble once, so the prize will be either $0 or $100. Gamble B's bag has 100 tickets also, but 50 of them say $25 and 50 of them say $35. Bag B thus guarantees at least $25, but the most you can win is $35. Some will prefer A and others will prefer B. To mark your choice, click the button next to A or B. Notice that the dot next to No. 1 will empty and fill in the button next to your choice. All gambles will have exactly 100 tickets.

Some gambles include the risk of losing money. Potential losses will be shown in red to make it easier to spot them, and gains will be shown in black. In some cases you would rather not play either gamble, but your task is still to choose which one you would rather play. There are often times in everyday life when one must choose the better of two bad choices. For example, there is a small chance that your car will be stolen. However, you might decide pay out money to an insurance company to insure against theft. If you choose to buy insurance, you are accepting a loss of a certain amount for sure, in order to avoid the small probability of a greater loss.

Although you cannot actually lose money in this study, try to imagine that you are really making these decisions, and make your choices as if you were making these decisions for real. Try to imagine that you have the chance to win or lose your own money.

1. Which do you choose?
          A: 50 tickets to win $100
                  50 tickets to win $0
      OR
          B: 50 tickets to win $35
                  50 tickets to win $25

2. Which do you choose? C: 50 tickets to win $100 50 tickets to win $0 OR D: 50 tickets to win $45 50 tickets to win $35
3. Which do you choose? E: 20 tickets to win $100 30 tickets to win $96 50 tickets to lose $50 OR F: 20 tickets to win $100 30 tickets to win $62 50 tickets to lose $50
4. Which do you choose? G: 35 tickets to win $100 37 tickets to win $0 4 tickets to lose $95 4 tickets to lose $97 20 tickets to lose $100 OR H: 10 tickets to win $100 10 tickets to win $99 10 tickets to win $96 40 tickets to win $0 30 tickets to lose $100
5. Which do you choose? I: 80 tickets to win $70 20 tickets to lose $75 OR J: 50 tickets to win $100 50 tickets to lose $50
6. Which do you choose? K: 80 tickets to win $100 20 tickets to lose $100 OR L: Win $50 for sure
7. Which do you choose? M: 50 tickets to lose $0 50 tickets to lose $100 OR N: 20 tickets to lose $0 80 tickets to lose $73
8. Which do you choose? O: 80 tickets to win $100 20 tickets to lose $100 OR P: Win $30 for sure
9. Which do you choose? Q: 50 tickets to win $50 50 tickets to lose $0 OR R: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to lose $0
10. Which do you choose? S: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to lose $100 OR T: Lose $50 for sure
11. Which do you choose? U: 50 tickets to win $50 50 tickets to lose $100 OR V: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to lose $73
12. Which do you choose? W: 50 tickets to win $100 50 tickets to win $0 OR X: Win $45 for sure
13. Which do you choose? Y: 50 tickets to win $0 50 tickets to lose $100 OR Z: 20 tickets to win $0 80 tickets to lose $73
14. Which do you choose? a: 50 tickets to win $100 50 tickets to lose $50 OR b: Win $10 for sure
15. Which do you choose? c: 80 tickets to win $70 20 to win $0 OR d: 50 tickets to win $100 50 tickets to win $0
16. Which do you choose? e: 50 tickets to lose $0 50 tickets to lose $100 OR f: Lose $45 for sure
17. Which do you choose? g: 50 tickets to win $50 50 tickets to win $0 OR h: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to win $0
18. Which do you choose? i: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to lose $100 OR j: Lose $30 for sure
19. Which do you choose? k: 80 tickets to lose $0 20 tickets to lose $75 OR l: 50 tickets to lose $0 50 tickets to lose $50
20. Which do you choose? m: 50 tickets to win $50 50 tickets to lose $100 OR n: 20 tickets to win $100 80 tickets to lose $73
21. Which do you choose? o: 35 tickets to win $100 37 tickets to win $0 4 tickets to lose $90 4 tickets to lose $95 20 tickets to lose $100 OR p: 12 tickets to win $100 10 tickets to win $99 10 tickets to win $97 38 tickets to win $0 30 tickets to lose $100
22. Have you ever read a scientific paper (i.e., a journal article or book) on the theory of decision making or on the psychology of decision making? No. Never. OR Yes, I have.

CSUF students should enter CSUF and the last 4 digits of ID number in the comments box below. For example, CSUF 4321. COMMENTS: Please check to make sure that you have answered all of the Questions. When you are finished, push this button to send your data:

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