The roles of time discounting and delay of gratification in career outcomes.

Abstract

Although career development prominently features intertemporal choices (in which choice consequences play out over time), little is known about how an individual should navigate intertemporal career choices to obtain desirable career outcomes. Using a sample of U.S. workers (n = 340), the current study examined the structural predictions of two general intertemporal choice orientations (i.e., time discounting and delay of gratification) and one career-specific intertemporal choice orientation (i.e., career commitment) for career and life satisfaction. The results supported a sequential dual mediator model in which time discounting negatively predicts career and life satisfaction sequentially through delay of gratification and career commitment. Therefore, the present study supports the clinical utility of the intertemporal choice perspective in conceptualizing career fulfillment and facilitating career development and calls for more attention to the underrecognized intertemporal choice perspective in career research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).