Abstract
Delay discounting refers to the reduction in the value of an outcome as a consequence of the delay to its receipt. The rate at which a future event is discounted depends on several factors, but there is little evidence regarding the effects of consequences concurrent with an intertemporal choice. In this study, participants were exposed to a delay discounting task in which an immediate gain (upfront gains) or an immediate loss (upfront losses) was bundled with an intertemporal choice. In two experiments, we explored how the sign (gain or loss) and magnitude (relative and absolute) of the upfront affect discounting rate. Results of Experiment 1 suggest that only the introduction of a significant negative upfront reduced discounting in the small reward condition. In Experiment 2, increasing both the relative and absolute magnitude of the upfront reduced discounting. We discuss these results in terms of factors that modulate the effect of availability and absence of additional resources on discounting.
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Notes
Weatherly (2012) explains the results of his experiment in terms of a contrast effects, that is, suggesting that rewards become more valuable when the annual income decreases, promoting less discounting.
Equivalency in dollars at the time the experiment took place: approximately US$903 (large reward) and US$112 (small reward). All reward amounts are in Mexican pesos.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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All the procedures were performed in accordance with ethical standards of the institutional human research committee of the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.
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Data supporting the findings of the present research will be available upon request from the corresponding author.
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This research was supported by Grant 281949 from the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT). We thank Daniel Torres for conducting pilot studies, as well as Frida Rangel for help with data collection of the present study.
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Reyes-Huerta, H.E., Valerio, C. & Carranza, R. Is the Value of Future Rewards Independent of Gains and Losses Concurrent with Intertemporal Choices?. Psychol Rec 71, 149–156 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00424-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00424-z