Development and quantification of measures for risky and delayed food and monetary outcome choices

Abstract

Probability discounting (PD) measures risky choice patterns between smaller, more certain vs. larger, less certain outcomes. PD is associated with obesity as well as higher intake of foods high in fat and sugar. We developed and validated a brief PD task specifically for food-related choices–the Probabilistic Food Choice Questionnaire (PFCQ). We also validated a brief, existing PD monetary measure, the Probabilistic Monetary Choice Questionnaire (PMCQ) by comparing it to a titrating PD task. Participants (N = 110) were randomly assigned to either a food or money condition. Those assigned to the food condition completed the PFCQ and a more established, adjusting-amount PD task for hypothetical food outcomes. Those assigned to the money condition completed the PMCQ and a more established, adjusting-amount PD task. Participants also completed delay discounting (DD) tasks for the same outcome commodity. The PFCQ and adjusting-amount PD tasks strongly correlated across three magnitudes suggesting that the PFCQ may be a satisfactory and briefer measure for risky food choice. The PMCQ also showed significant correlations with the adjusting-amount monetary PD task, supporting its use for a brief measure of monetary discounting. For DD, the choice questionnaires demonstrated significant correlations with the adjusting-amount DD procedures, replicating previous research.