Dimension of impulsive behaviour: Discounting rate as a personality trait

Abstract

Discounting refers to a decrease in the subjective value of a reward (or loss) as its delay increases. Steep discounting of delayed outcomes is of growing interest because of its relation to a number of socially important problems (e.g. pathological gambling, drug abuse). Although delay discounting is clearly related to some personality characteristics, there has been little formal consideration of whether delay discounting itself might be considered a trait. What evidence is there that the degree of discounting in which a person engages might be an overt component of such a trait? In general, experiments which will be presented examined how delays to an outcome affect its value. The results obtained suggest that the degree of sensitivity to delayed outcomes may be a stable and pervasive individual characteristic. Along with additional evidence reviewed, these data suggest that delay discounting may be considered as a personality trait.