Iowa Gambling Task

HED Task ID: hedtsk_iowa_gambling

Also known as: IGT, Iowa Gambling

Repeated choices among four decks with hidden reward and loss distributions; preference shift toward advantageous decks indexes affective decision making.

Description

Participants choose cards from four decks to maximize winnings. Two decks (A, B) have high wins but higher losses (net loss); two decks (C, D) have smaller wins but minimal losses (net gain). Over 100 trials, healthy participants gradually learn to prefer advantageous decks. The IGT is particularly sensitive to ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage; vmPFC patients fail to develop a preference for advantageous decks despite normal intellectual functioning. The task operationalizes the Somatic Marker Hypothesis.

Inclusion test

Procedure

Four decks of cards are presented; participants draw one card at a time from any deck. Each draw yields a reward and sometimes a penalty. Two decks are advantageous (smaller rewards, smaller penalties, net positive) and two are disadvantageous (larger rewards, larger penalties, net negative).

Manipulation

Reward/penalty schedule; number of trials; deck position; variant payoff structures.

Measurement

Net score (advantageous − disadvantageous deck selections); learning curve across blocks; anticipatory SCR before deck selection.

Variations

Variation

Description

Justification

Standard IGT

100 trials, 4 decks, fixed payoff schedules (A/B disadvantageous, C/D advantageous).

Canonical four-deck IGT with covert payoff structure

Soochow Gambling Task (SGT)

Modified payoff structure separating frequency from magnitude of losses.

Reversed long-run structure; tests frequency vs. magnitude sensitivity

Child Versions

Hungry Donkey Task, Children’s Gambling Task; age-appropriate formats.

Simplified decks and stimuli for children; procedure adapted per §5.3

Extended IGT (150–200 trials)

More trials to examine later learning phases.

Extended trial count; tests learning at longer timescales

IGT with Explicit Probabilities

Payoff information explicitly provided; separates learning from decision.

Payoff probabilities stated explicitly; changes information structure

Modified Payoff Variants

Equated frequency, equated magnitude, or reversed deck structures.

Different win/loss schedules; tests sensitivity to schedule structure

Cognitive processes

This task engages the following cognitive processes:

Key references

  • {‘authors’: ‘Bechara, A., Damasio, A. R., Damasio, H., & Anderson, S. W.’, ‘year’: 1994, ‘title’: ‘Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex’, ‘venue’: ‘Cognition’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Cognition’, ‘volume’: ‘50’, ‘issue’: ‘1-3’, ‘pages’: ‘7-15’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Bechara, A., Damasio, A. R., Damasio, H., & Anderson, S. W. (1994). Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition, 50(1-3), 7-15.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R.’, ‘year’: 1997, ‘title’: ‘Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy’, ‘venue’: ‘Science’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Science’, ‘volume’: ‘275’, ‘issue’: ‘5304’, ‘pages’: ‘1293-1295’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1126/science.275.5304.1293’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275(5304), 1293-1295.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5304.1293’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: “Li, X., Lu, Z. L., D’Argembeau, A., Ng, M., & Bechara, A.”, ‘year’: 2010, ‘title’: ‘The Iowa Gambling Task in fMRI images’, ‘venue’: ‘Human Brain Mapping’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Human Brain Mapping’, ‘volume’: None, ‘issue’: None, ‘pages’: None, ‘doi’: None, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: “Li, X., Lu, Z. L., D’Argembeau, A., Ng, M., & Bechara, A. (2010). The Iowa Gambling Task in fMRI images. Human Brain Mapping, 31(3), 410-423.”, ‘url’: None, ‘source’: ‘needs_review’, ‘confidence’: ‘low’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

Recent references

  • {‘authors’: ‘Steingroever, H., Wetzels, R., Horstmann, A., Neumann, J., & Wagenmakers, E.’, ‘year’: 2013, ‘title’: ‘Performance of healthy participants on the Iowa Gambling Task.’, ‘venue’: ‘Psychological Assessment’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Psychological Assessment’, ‘volume’: ‘25’, ‘issue’: ‘1’, ‘pages’: ‘180-193’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1037/a0029929’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Steingroever, H., Wetzels, R., Horstmann, A., Neumann, J., & Wagenmakers, E. J. (2013). Performance of healthy participants on the Iowa Gambling Task. Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 180–193.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029929’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Haines, N., Vassileva, J., & Ahn, W.’, ‘year’: 2018, ‘title’: ‘The Outcome‐Representation Learning Model: A Novel Reinforcement Learning Model of the Iowa Gambling Task’, ‘venue’: ‘Cognitive Science’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Cognitive Science’, ‘volume’: ‘42’, ‘issue’: ‘8’, ‘pages’: ‘2534-2561’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1111/cogs.12688’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Haines, N., Vassileva, J., & Ahn, W. Y. (2018). The Outcome-Representation Learning Model: A novel reinforcement learning model of the Iowa Gambling Task. Cognitive Science, 42(Suppl 3), 1098–1122.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12688’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Buelow, M. T., & Suhr, J. A.’, ‘year’: 2009, ‘title’: ‘Construct Validity of the Iowa Gambling Task’, ‘venue’: ‘Neuropsychology Review’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Neuropsychology Review’, ‘volume’: ‘19’, ‘issue’: ‘1’, ‘pages’: ‘102-114’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1007/s11065-009-9083-4’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Buelow, M. T., & Suhr, J. A. (2009). Construct validity of the Iowa Gambling Task. Neuropsychology Review, 19(1), 102–114.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-009-9083-4’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Ahn, W., Busemeyer, J. R., Wagenmakers, E., & Stout, J. C.’, ‘year’: 2008, ‘title’: ‘Comparison of Decision Learning Models Using the Generalization Criterion Method’, ‘venue’: ‘Cognitive Science’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Cognitive Science’, ‘volume’: ‘32’, ‘issue’: ‘8’, ‘pages’: ‘1376-1402’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1080/03640210802352992’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Ahn, W. Y., Busemeyer, J. R., Wagenmakers, E. J., & Stout, J. C. (2008). Comparison of decision learning models using the generalization criterion method. Cognitive Science, 32(8), 1376–1402.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1080/03640210802352992’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Decision-making and performance in the Iowa Gambling Task: recent ERP findings and clinical implications.’, ‘year’: 2025, ‘title’: ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, ‘venue’: ‘, 16, 1492471. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1492471’, ‘venue_type’: ‘book’, ‘journal’: None, ‘volume’: None, ‘issue’: None, ‘pages’: None, ‘doi’: ‘10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1492471’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Decision-making and performance in the Iowa Gambling Task: recent ERP findings and clinical implications. (2025). Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1492471. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1492471’, ‘url’: None, ‘source’: ‘unresolved’, ‘confidence’: ‘none’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}