Imagine that you are given the chance to play a gamble based on the toss of a fair coin. The coin is tossed in the air and you call "HEADS" or "TAILS". If you are right, you get the better of two possible outcomes. If you are wrong, you get the worse outcome. On each trial below you will see two outcomes that might happen on each trial. Each gamble is a 50-50 chance to win one outcome or the other.
Each outcome is equally likely, because the coin has an equal chance of coming out HEADS or TAILS.
We are studying how people decide which gambles they want to play, so many different kinds of trials will be presented. Some examples of the gambles presented are discussed below.
For example, look at the sample trial below:
S1. BREAK EVEN: $0 or WIN $60 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
The gamble above, S1, gives you a fifty-fifty chance to either win $60 or to break even. If you call the coin correctly, you get $60, and if you are wrong, you break even; that is, you don't win or lose anything. Would you like to play this gamble? Most people would like to play it, because you can't lose anything and you have a 50% chance to win $60. If you would like to play this gamble, you should click a button to the right of the center.
The next gamble, S2, is a 50-50 chance to either break even or break even, so you can't win or lose money either way. Most people would not care one way or the other whether or not they play this gamble because nothing can be gained or lost. If you don't care one way or the other, click the button in the middle of the scale to indicate that you are neutral toward playing a gamble.
S2. BREAK EVEN: $0 or BREAK EVEN: $0 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
The next gamble is a 50-50 chance to either WIN $100 or to LOSE $100. Notice that LOSE $100 has been set in RED, to help you see that it is a chance to LOSE money. Would you like to play this gamble? You have a 50% chance to WIN $100. If you would like to play this gamble, click a button to the right of the center, to indicate how much you would like to play it. Maybe you would rather NOT play this gamble because you might LOSE $100. If you would rather NOT play the gamble, click a button to the left of the center to indicate how much you would dislike playing this gamble.
S3. LOSE $100 or WIN $100 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
The worst gamble in this study is shown below, in which you would LOSE either $100 or BREAK EVEN. Most people would click the button on the far left to say they would "Dislike Very Much" to play this gamble.
S4. LOSE $100 or BREAK EVEN: $0 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
The best gamble in the study is shown below, in which you WIN either $100 or BREAK EVEN: $0. Most people would like very much to play this gamble, because you might win $100 and can't do worse than BREAK EVEN; in this case, you can click the button to the far right.
S5. WIN $99 or WIN $100 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
The next case gives you a chance to win $100, but you might lose $10. Would you like to play this gamble? Click a button to show how much you would like to play this gamble.
S6. LOSE $10 or WIN $100 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
This gamble gives you a chance to win $10 or lose $100. Would you like to play this one?
S7. WIN $10 or LOSE $100 Dislike Very Much Like Very Much
Imagine that when you have finished the experiment below, two trials will be chosen at random from the ones below, and you will play the gamble to which you gave the higher rating. You would then play your preferred gamble of these two, and you would either win or lose money according to how the gamble came out when the coin was tossed. So, you should give higher ratings to gambles you would rather play, and give lower ratings to those you prefer NOT to play.
You are asked to read each trial, think about the gamble and decide how much you would like to play each gamble. If you would LIKE to play the gamble very much, click buttons on the right, and if you DO NOT WANT to play the gamble, click buttons to the left. If you are neutral to a gamble--indifferent whether you play it or not, click the button in the middle of the scale. Please read these instructions again before you go on to the trials below.
Female Male
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