Abstract
Hypothetical rewards are commonly used in studies of laboratory-based tobacco demand. However, behavioral economic demand procedures require confirmation that the behavior elicited from real and hypothetical reward types are equivalent, and that results attained from these procedures are comparable to other accepted tasks, such as the hypothetical purchase task. Nineteen smokers were asked to purchase 1 week's worth of cigarettes that they would consume over the following week either at one price that incrementally increased across four weekly sessions ("real" sessions) or four prices in a single session ("potentially real" session), one of which was randomly chosen to be actualized. At each session, participants also completed a hypothetical cigarette purchase task. After each week, participants reported the number of cigarettes they actually smoked. Demand was found to be equivalent under both the real and potentially real reward conditions but statistically different from the demand captured in the hypothetical purchase task. However, the amounts purchased at specific prices in the hypothetical purchase task were significantly correlated with the amount purchased at comparable prices in the other two tasks (except for the highest price examined in both tasks of $1.00 per cigarette). Number of cigarettes consumed that were obtained outside of the study was correlated with study cigarette price. Combined, these results suggest that purchasing behavior during potentially real sessions (1) was not functionally different from real sessions, (2) imposes fewer costs to the experimenter, and (3) has high levels of both internal and external validity.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.