Intertemporal Decisions Research Articles

Learned self-regulation in top-level managers through neurobiofeedback training improves decision making under stress

Top-level management teams are particularly exposed to stress factors as they frequently have to make important decision under stress. While an existing body of research evidence suggests that stress negatively affects decision-making processes, very little is known about possible strategies to reduce these negative effects. The aim of the current work is to investigate the effect of training self-regulation ability through neurobiofeedback on managers’ intertemporal and risky decision making. Twenty-three managers were assigned to the experimental or the control condition. All participants performed, two decisional tasks, before and after a training phase. The tasks were administered through mouse tracker software, in order to measure participants’ delay discounting and risk taking propensity on both explicit and implicit choice parameters. During the training phase, the experimental condition received a training protocol based on stress assessment tests via neurobiofeedback signals (i.e., temperature and skin conductance), with the goal of improving self-regulation ability while the control condition was administered a control training. The main result of this study is to have conclusively demonstrated that NBF training increases an individual's ability to self-regulate stress-related psychophysiological phenomena. Consequently, the improved ability to manage one's own reaction to stress enables a reduction in instinctive behavior during a probabilistic choice task.

Intertemporal decisions from experience versus description: Similarities and differences.

Intertemporal decisions from experience versus description: Similarities and differences.

Dynamic Fusion Simulation Method of Intertemporal Decision Preferences of Large Groups in Weak Relationships

The fusion of large group decision-making preferences is generally based on hard constraints, and the general low-consensus heterogeneous preference interaction situation of weak relationship decision-making under soft constraints has not been investigated. This study puts forward the preference connotation structure and preference attributes of the intertemporal decision-making of weak relationships groups, objective preference comparison standards between individuals, preference interaction neighborhoods between individuals, preference learning adjustment rules, and preference cycle interaction result evaluation connotations. On this basis, this research constructs a multistage and multiple-round intertemporal decision-making preference dynamic fusion theory and a method for weak relationship large groups. The simulation results verify and support the constructed preference fusion theory and method, indicating that a relatively rational interactive learning and adjustment process can improve the group decision-making performance of the key digital technology R&D team for offshore wind power project construction, operation, and maintenance and effectively improve the convergence level, convergence time, comprehensive decision-making benefits, and decision-making cognition. In the increasingly open large group intertemporal decision-making situation, these research viewpoints and conclusions will help to expand the strong relationship hypotheses of preference fusion in previous group decision-making research. The research opinions and conclusions supplement the theory and method of preference interaction fusion under soft constraints in large group decision-making.

The cancellation heuristic in intertemporal choice shifts people\u2019s time preferences

Building on past research in risky decision making, the present research investigated whether the cancellation heuristic is evident in intertemporal choice. Specifically, the cancellation heuristic posits that whenever choice options are partitioned into multiple components, people ignore seemingly identical components and compare the non-identical components. We nudged people to employ the cancellation heuristic by partitioning both the smaller earlier reward and the larger later reward into a seemingly identical component and a non-identical component. Given diminishing marginal utility, we hypothesized that people would perceive an identical difference between the smaller earlier reward and the larger later reward as being subjectively greater when both amounts are smaller in magnitude, thereby increasing the relative attractiveness of the larger later reward in the partition condition. We conducted four studies, including two incentive-compatible lab experiments, one incentive-compatible lab-in-the-field experiment, and one survey study using choices among both gains and losses. We consistently found that this choice architecture intervention significantly increased people’s likelihood of choosing the larger later reward. Furthermore, we provide evidence of the underlying mechanism-people’s intertemporal decisions shifted to a greater extent in the cancellation condition, particularly if their marginal utility diminished faster. The findings indicate that two features of human psychology-diminishing marginal utility and the cancellation heuristic-can be simultaneously utilized to nudge people to make decisions that would be better for them in the long run.

Does speech rate influence intertemporal decisions? an experimental investigation.

This paper experimentally examines the effect of speech rate on intertemporal decisions. In a delay-discounting task, subjects made a series of intertemporal choices between smaller-sooner and larger-delayed rewards and were asked to listen to a voice recording verbalizing the information for payoff options. We manipulated the speech rate of the voice recordings and administered two treatment conditions: Slow and Fast. We did not find an overall treatment effect in the acoustic manipulation.

GABAB receptors in prelimbic cortex and basolateral amygdala differentially influence intertemporal decision making and decline with age

The ability to decide adaptively between immediate vs. delayed gratification (intertemporal choice) is critical for well-being and is associated with a range of factors that influence quality of life. In contrast to young adults, many older adults show enhanced preference for delayed gratification; however, the neural mechanisms underlying this age difference in intertemporal choice are largely un-studied. Changes in signaling through GABAB receptors (GABABRs) mediate several age-associated differences in cognitive processes linked to intertemporal choice. The current study used a rat model to determine how GABABRs in two brain regions known to regulate intertemporal choice (prelimbic cortex; PrL and basolateral amygdala; BLA) contribute to age differences in this form of decision making in male rats. As in humans, aged rats showed enhanced preference for large, delayed over small, immediate rewards during performance in an intertemporal choice task in operant test chambers. Activation of PrL GABABRs via microinfusion of the agonist baclofen increased choice of large, delayed rewards in young adult rats but did not influence choice in aged rats. Conversely, infusion of baclofen into the BLA strongly reduced choice of large, delayed rewards in both young adult and aged rats. Aged rats further showed a significant reduction in expression of GABABR1 subunit isoforms in the prefrontal cortex, a discovery that is consonant with the null effect of intra-PrL baclofen on intertemporal choice in aged rats. In contrast, expression of GABABR subunits was generally conserved with age in the BLA. Jointly, these findings elucidate a role for GABABRs in intertemporal choice and identify fundamental features of brain maturation and aging that mediate an improved ability to delay gratification.

Cognitive ability, financial literacy, and narrow bracketing in time-preference elicitation

We study the role of cognitive ability and financial literacy for inter-temporal decision-making using an adapted version of the Convex Time Budget Protocol. We document heterogeneity in choice-patterns and estimated parameters at the individual-level: Subjects with higher cognitive ability and financial literacy are more likely to make patient inter-temporal choices, to allocate the entire budget to a single payment-date, and to allocate the entire budget to corner choices as interest rates increase. At the same time, financial literacy is uncorrelated with choice consistency and estimated individual error parameters, suggesting these results are not driven by a reduction in random noise among high ability respondents. These results may serve as suggestive evidence for inter-temporal arbitrage among high ability respondents, thereby revealing a potential confound in time-preference elicitation tasks relying on time-dated monetary rewards.

Effects of emotion on intertemporal decision-making: Explanation from the single dimension priority model

<p id="p00005">Studies show that significant differences are found in intertemporal choice between people in positive and negative emotions. However, the mechanism underlying this effect is underexplored. This study aimed to reveal the process mechanism of emotions on intertemporal decision making on the basis of the single dimension priority model by using a process-oriented method-a visual analog scale. <break/>We conducted three studies, where emotions were induced by video clip-induced technique to trigger target emotions (positive, neutral and negative). In study 1, the effects of emotions on intertemporal choice was investigated. This study used a 3 (emotion: positive, neutral, negative) × 2 (delay amount: 100, 1000 yuan) × 5 (delay time: 10, 30, 90, 180, 360 days) mixed design with emotion as a between-subjects variable. Participants were randomly assigned to positive, neutral, and negative conditions and were asked to complete the delay discounting task. In study 2, the process mechanism of emotions on intertemporal choice with a between-subjects design (emotion: positive, negative) was explored. Participants in each condition were asked to complete the delay discounting task and to compare the difference in the delay dimension with that on the outcome dimension. In studies 3a and 3b, 2 (emotion: positive, negative) × 2 (priming: time priming/money priming, no priming) between-subjects designs were used to manipulate the difference-comparing process and explore whether the effect of emotions on intertemporal choice disappeared. <break/>The results were observed as follows: (1) Emotions affected intertemporal choice significantly. Participants in the positive condition preferred the delay reward more than participants in the negative and neutral condition. (2) The difference-comparing process played a mediating role in the relationship between emotion and intertemporal decision making. Participants in positive emotion perceived that the difference in outcome dimension was greater than that of delay dimension and preferred the delay option. Participants in negative emotions perceived opposite and tended to choose the immediate choice. (3) The effect of emotions on intertemporal decision making disappeared when the difference-comparing process was manipulated. <break/>In summary, this study revealed the psychological mechanism of emotions on intertemporal decision making from the perspective of decision-making process and added important procedural evidence to the single dimension priority model.

Impaired delay discounting and time sensitivity in methcathinone use disorder.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is characterized by continued drug use despite adverse consequences. Methcathinone is a new type of psychoactive substance that is associated with high excitement and impulsive behaviors. However, it is unclear if individuals with methcathinone use disorders (MCUD) are with impaired decision-making ability. We analyzed the task performance in 45 male MCUD subjects and 35 male matched healthy controls (HC) with intertemporal decision-making task. Constant sensitivity discounting model was used to estimate potential changes in both discounting rate and time sensitivity. The results showed that MCUD individuals exhibited a higher delay discounting rate (p = 0.003, Cohen's d = 0.683) and reduced sensitivity to time (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.662). The delay discounting rate was correlated to the first age for drug use (r = - 0.41, p = 0.004), and the time sensitivity was negatively correlated with the duration of abstinence (r = - 0.31, p = 0.036). We conclude that MCUD individuals are with impaired decision-making ability and time perception disturbances.

Percent framing attenuates the magnitude effect in a preference-matching task of intertemporal choice.

Research in intertemporal decisions shows that people value future gains less than equivalent but immediate gains by a factor known as the discount rate (i.e., people want a premium for waiting to receive a reward). A robust phenomenon in intertemporal decisions is the finding that the discount rate is larger for small gains than for large gains, termed the magnitude effect. However, the psychological underpinnings of this effect are not yet fully understood. One explanation proposes that intertemporal choices are driven by comparisons of features of the present and future choice options (e.g., information on rewards). According to this explanation, the hypothesis is that the magnitude effect is stronger when the absolute difference between present and future rewards is emphasized, compared to when their relative difference is emphasized. However, this hypothesis has only been tested using one task (the two-choice paradigm) and only for gains (i.e., not losses). It's therefore unclear whether the findings that support the hypothesis can be generalized to different methodological paradigms (e.g., preference matching) and to the domain of losses. To address this question, we conducted experiments using the preference-matching method whereby the premium amounts that people could ask for were framed in terms of either currencies (emphasizing absolute differences) or percentages (emphasizing relative differences). We thus tested the robustness of the evidence in support of the hypothesis that percent framing, relative to currency framing, attenuates the magnitude effect in the domain of gains (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and in the domain of losses (Study 1, 3, and 4). The data were heavily skewed and the assumption of equal variances was violated. Therefore, in place of parametric statistical tests, we calculated and interpreted parametric and nonparametric standardized and unstandardized effect size estimates and their confidence intervals. Overall, the results support the hypothesis.

Are You Sure: Preference and Ambivalence in Delay Discounting.

Delay discounting (DD) research has become ubiquitous due to its robust associations with clinical outcomes. Typical DD tasks involve multiple trials in which participants indicate preference between smaller, sooner and larger, later rewards. Scoring of these binary choice tasks has not considered trial-level ambivalence as a possible decision-making construct. The present study explored the extent to which trial-level ambivalence varied within-individual using an established assessment of DD (the Monetary Choice Questionnaire). Results indicate that degree of ambivalence peaks around the trials associated with the DD rate. Moreover, ambivalence is associated with a diminished impact of reward delay differences on choice, where greater delay differences decrease the odds of choosing the larger, later rewards. Taken together, we believe ambivalence to be a relevant construct for research on intertemporal decision making, and it may be particularly useful in the study of manipulations on individual rates of DD.

New results on precautionary saving and nonlinear risks.

We study precautionary saving in a two-period model that allows for nonlinear risks and nonseparable preferences. Permitting nonlinear risk effects is important because they are common in the developing world or when worldwide shocks hit economies, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Allowing nonseparable preferences is also important because they admit the incorporation of intergenerational transfer, habit persistence and other specific features of intertemporal decision making. We decompose the risk shock using Davis’s (Int Econ Rev 30(1):131–136, 1989) compensation method and analyze the income and substitution effect of an increase in risk. We prove that the substitution effect is always negative and, therefore, the income effect must be positive and larger in size to have a precautionary net effect. We then apply the method to various sources of risk, such as income, interest rate and wealth risk. We analyze the magnitude of each effect and find the conditions required to guarantee precautionary saving in each case. Our results are presented as signs of covariances, which provides a new perspective on precautionary saving.

Decision value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and motivational and hedonic symptoms across mood and psychotic disorders

Deficits in motivation and pleasure are common across many psychiatric disorders, and manifest as symptoms of amotivation and anhedonia, which are prominent features of both mood and psychotic disorders. Here we provide evidence for an association between neural value signals and symptoms of amotivation and anhedonia across adults with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or no psychiatric diagnosis. We found that value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during intertemporal decision-making were dampened in individuals with greater motivational and hedonic deficits, after accounting for primary diagnosis. This relationship remained significant while controlling for diagnosis-specific symptoms of mood and psychosis, such as depression as well as positive and negative symptoms. Our results demonstrate that dysfunction in the vmPFC during value-based decision-making is specifically linked to motivational and hedonic impairments. These findings provide a quantitative neural target for the potential development of novel treatments for amotivation and anhedonia.

The Impact of Anger on Intertemporal Decision-Making in People with Inclination of Internet Addiction: An fNIRS Study

The Impact of Anger on Intertemporal Decision-Making in People with Inclination of Internet Addiction: An fNIRS Study

Social exclusion influenced intertemporal decision-making and its mechanism

Social exclusion influenced intertemporal decision-making and its mechanism

Supplemental Material for Intertemporal Decisions From Experience Versus Description: Similarities and Differences

Supplemental Material for Intertemporal Decisions From Experience Versus Description: Similarities and Differences

The Effect of Regulatory Focus on Intertemporal Decision Making

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The effect of working memory capacity and training on intertemporal decision making in children from low-socioeconomic-status families

Individuals differ in their tendency to discount delayed rewards. Low socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to be associated with strong delayed reward discounting (DRD), which in turn contributes to risky decision making and adverse behaviors. However, research on possible cognitive mediators of the negative association between SES and DRD, and on effects of cognitive training in low-SES adolescents, is largely lacking. In examining Chinese adolescents (aged 11–15 years; N = 207), Study 1 assessed which aspect of working memory (WM)—simple maintenance, simple manipulation, or updating—serves as mediator, which proved to be WM updating. Based on this outcome, in Study 2 Chinese adolescents (aged 12–14 years; N = 73) with low family SES were assigned to a WM updating training condition or a control condition. All participants performed DRD and WM tasks before and after treatment. The trained adolescents showed positive training effects on DRD, and this effect was specifically correlated with beneficial training effects on performance on a WM updating transfer task. These results support the role of WM updating in DRD and might inform training programs to promote more favorable decision making in low-SES adolescents.

Discounting from a distance: The effect of pronoun drop on intertemporal decisions

Intertemporal decisions—trade-offs between immediate and delayed rewards—are ubiquitous in daily life, and the ability to resist the emotional temptation to choose immediate gratification predicts long-term economic outcomes. Based on existing research on self-distancing—a psychological technique that cues people to assess their experiences from afar and has been shown to facilitate emotion regulation—we propose a novel, unobtrusive linguistic self-distancing strategy through a subtle pronoun drop and examine its impact on intertemporal decisions. In a delay-discounting task, participants made a series of intertemporal choices between smaller-sooner and larger-delayed rewards. We conveyed the monetary rewards using the first-person pronoun “I” in the self-immersed “I” condition, whereas the pronoun was dropped in the self-distanced “No Pronoun” condition. The results show that the subtle pronoun drop in the description of the monetary rewards reduced participants’ tendency to discount future rewards, leading to more patient choices. Alternative explanations, implications, and future directions are also discussed.

Examining the Effect of Short-Term Affect on Farmers’ Risk and Time Preferences in Financial Decision-Making

Farmers regularly make intertemporal decisions under risk or uncertainty. To improve how farmers behave when faced with decisions that have financial consequences, there is a need for a deeper understanding of farmers’ risk and time preferences. While the relationship between individual components of affect and risk preferences is well documented, the same cannot be said for holistic measures of affect on one hand, and for affect and time preferences on the other hand. The data analysed in this paper is the 2014–2015 Indonesian Family Life Survey Wave 5. The survey included experimental measures designed to elicit both risk and time preferences from the same subjects. We analysed the data using limited dependent variable regression models. Our findings strengthen what is known about the affect infusion model. With increased pleasant affect, farmers’ willingness to take risks increases significantly. The results also suggest that pleasant affect is associated with increased odds that farmers will choose future rewards in the long horizon but had no statistically significant effect on the short horizon. The practical implications are that an experience of pleasant affect before decision-making may cause the decision-maker (DM) to perceive a prospect as having high benefits and low risks. Pleasant affect may also induce lower sensitivity towards losses and play the role of a buffer which reduces the immediate negative impact of information that otherwise would prevent the DM from focusing on the long-term. JEL Classifications: C93, D81, D91