Instructions
In this experiment, your payment will depend on the toss of a coin. And your task will be to decide how much money you want to receive if the coin comes up heads and how much you want to receive if the coin comes up tails.
In each problem you will be asked to choose a point that is on a blue line like the one shown below.
The line represents all the possible combinations of payments you can choose to receive. The vertical axis shows the dollar amount you will receive if the coin comes up heads. The horizontal axis shows the amount you will receive if the coin comes up tails.
By selecting a point on the line, you are choosing how much you want to receive if the coin comes up heads and how much you want to receive if the coin comes up tails. For example, if you chose the point marked by the red ball, you would receive $39.31 if the coin came up heads and $6.07 if it came up tails. You can select any point on the line.
Notice the trade-off between heads and tails. To increase the amount paid when the coin comes up heads, you have to reduce the amount paid when it comes up tails. To increase the amount paid when the coin comes up tails, you have to reduce the amount paid when it comes up heads.
To select your choice, use the mouse, or your finger if you are using a touch screen, to move the pointer on the computer screen to the option you wish to choose, and then click your mouse or trackpad once. A window like the one shown below will pop up. Press “Next” to confirm your choice or “Cancel” to revise your choice. You will not be able to revise your choice after pressing “Next”.
After you click “Next”, you will be moved to the next round, where you will be asked to make a choice in a different decision problem involving a different a line and different options. In total you will be asked to make 25 decisions.
Next, you will have two practice rounds. The choices you make in these two rounds will not affect how much money you will be paid.
You can refer back to these instructions anytime you need to by clicking on the help link.