Abstract
Addiction to the Internet has emerged as a new kind of addictive behavior. Although previous studies have revealed that impairments in working memory led to suboptimal decision making (e.g., a greater willingness to choose smaller, more immediate rewards), little is known about how working memory affects intertemporal choice in Internet addicts and normal users. Thus, this study’s aim was to investigate the effect of working memory task on intertemporal choice in 33 participants addicted to internet and 25 healthy controls. Participants were administered (a) a test for Internet Addiction, (b) a single delay discounting self-report questionnaire (c) a working memory task. Differences between the Internet addicts and the control group were observed in terms of delay discounting rates, reaction times, and in memory accuracy rates. We observed significantly higher delay discounting rates among individuals addicted to the Internet. Moreover, it was documented that reaction times follow the 4-level working memory condition were significantly longer than follow the 2-level condition, in both the Internet addicts and the control group. The current findings suggest that Internet addicts are more likely to make short-sighted decisions than normal Internet users. The higher the level of working memory, the more likely an individual is to choose the present smaller reward, thus making short-sighted decisions, and have longer response times.
Highlights
IntroductionInternet addiction has been known to be linked to a host of negative outcomes for those who are addicted to internet (Koronczai et al, 2011), such as reduced work efficiency (Anandarajan et al, 2000), lowered academic achievement and social relationship (Young, 1996; Young et al, 1999; Cash et al, 2012), increased abnormal behaviors and behavioral disorders (Lam et al, 2009; Lin et al, 2011; Li et al, 2016, 2019), and neurological dysfunction (Dalbudak et al, 2014; Petry et al, 2014, 2018)
The dependent variables examined in this study were the delay discounting rate in intertemporal decision making, working memory accuracy rates and reaction times
These results demonstrated that working memory load affects intertemporal decision making in both Internet addicts and healthy individuals
Summary
Internet addiction has been known to be linked to a host of negative outcomes for those who are addicted to internet (Koronczai et al, 2011), such as reduced work efficiency (Anandarajan et al, 2000), lowered academic achievement and social relationship (Young, 1996; Young et al, 1999; Cash et al, 2012), increased abnormal behaviors and behavioral disorders (Lam et al, 2009; Lin et al, 2011; Li et al, 2016, 2019), and neurological dysfunction (Dalbudak et al, 2014; Petry et al, 2014, 2018). Studies have indicated that short-sighted decision making is related to cognitive function impairment among individuals with addictive disorders (Hare et al, 2009; Levitt et al, 2010; Cruz Rambaud et al, 2017; Calluso et al, 2020). Previous studies found that there is a significantly negative correlation between working memory and delay discounting rates (Hinson et al, 2003; Shamosh et al, 2008). Delay discounting rate is an indicator of intertemporal choice (Frederick et al, 2002). We think that the working memory plays an important role in intertemporal decision making. According to hot-cold system model (Loewenstein, 1996) on intertemporal decision, the reason why individuals can make long-term decisions instead of indulging in current temptation is that
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