Abstract
One method known to increase preference for larger, later rewards (LLRs) over smaller, sooner rewards (SSRs) is choice bundling, in which a single choice produces a series of repeating consequences over time. The present study examined whether effects of choice bundling on preference for LLRs: (1) increase with the number of rewards in the bundle (i.e., bundle size); (2) are independent of differences in reward magnitude between conditions; and (3) accord with predictions of an additive model of hyperbolic delay discounting, in which the value of a bundle of rewards can be expressed as the summed discounted value of all rewards in that bundle. Participants (N = 252) completed a choice task to assess valuation of monetary LLRs at bundle sizes of 1 (control), 3, and 9 rewards per choice (ascending/descending order counterbalanced). To control for the magnitude effect, the total reward amounts were held constant across conditions. Choice bundling significantly increased LLR preference (p < .001), with the largest effect observed at the largest bundle size. The descending bundle-size order produced significantly greater LLR preference than the ascending order (p < .05), although order did not significantly interact with bundle size. Difference scores between observed measures and those predicted by an additive model of hyperbolic discounting were small and not significantly different than zero, but were not equivalent to zero. Future research should investigate the clinical utility of choice bundling for reducing the maladaptive health behavior (e.g., substance use) with which delay discounting is associated.
Highlights
Rewards are devalued as a function of the delay until they are received—a process known as delay discounting [1, 2]
Additional evidence suggests that delay discounting may play an etiological role in lifestyle-related disease, as interventions that decrease and increase delay discounting improve and worsen, respectively, the health behaviors with which delay discounting is associated, including consumption or valuation of cigarettes [e.g., 13, 14], alcohol [e.g., 15], and obesogenic foods [e.g., 16–18; and see 19, 20]
In the largest study of choice bundling to date, bundled rewards parametrically increased willingness to wait for LLRs in an adult, online sample of 252 participants
Summary
Rewards are devalued as a function of the delay until they are received—a process known as delay discounting [1, 2]. Additional evidence suggests that delay discounting may play an etiological role in lifestyle-related disease, as interventions that decrease and increase delay discounting improve and worsen, respectively, the health behaviors with which delay discounting is associated, including consumption or valuation of cigarettes [e.g., 13, 14], alcohol [e.g., 15], and obesogenic foods [e.g., 16–18; and see 19, 20]. Given these considerations, understanding how delay discounting influences choice is critical and may lead to development of effective clinical interventions for health behavior. When the subjective value of a reward is assessed across a range of delays, the nonlinear function that describes the data approximates the hyperbolic form [21]: V1⁄4 A ð1Þ
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