On each trial, participants pump a simulated balloon without knowing when it will explode. Each pump increases the potential reward to be gained but also the probability of explosion, whichwipesoutallpotentialgains for that trial. Inmoststudies,balloonexplosionprobabilities are drawn from a uniform distribution, and participants must learn explosion probabilities through trial-and-error.
Definition contributed by TSchonberg about one year ago.