On the associations between delay discounting and temporal thinking

Abstract

Shallow discounting of delayed rewards is consequential for future-orientated behavior such as healthy eating and pro-environmental behaviors, and research has indicated a negative association between delay discounting and future thinking. Across two studies, we examined the extent to which delay discounting reliably correlates with considerations of future consequences (CFC) of behavior, whether the correlation pattern is negative for CFC-Future while positive for CFC-Immediate, and whether delay discounting and temporal thinking differ in their associations with retrospective self-reports of electricity conservation behavior. We measured delay discounting with a single-trial monetary choice task (Study 1) and a titrating amount money discounting task that characterized each individual's entire discounting curve (Study 2). Delay discounting correlated negatively with CFC-Future in Study 1, and positively with CFC-Immediate in both studies. An experiential discounting task using videos also employed in Study 2 showed that when participants experienced outcomes of their choices, discounting rates correlated reliably negatively with CFC-Total but not the specific CFC dimensions. Self-reported electricity conservation behavior correlated more reliably with temporal thinking than delay discounting in both studies.