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Delay Discounting Rates are Temporally Stable in an Equivalent Present Value Procedure Using Theoretical and Area under the Curve Analyses

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Abstract

Temporal discounting rates have become a popular dependent variable in social science research. While choice procedures are commonly employed to measure discounting rates, equivalent present value (EPV) procedures may be more sensitive to experimental manipulation. However, their use has been impeded by the absence of test-retest reliability data. Staff and students at a regional Australian university (n = 53) participated in a matching EPV temporal discounting procedure in 2 sessions, 2 weeks apart, completing 30 one-shot, second-price auctions for two amounts, with delays ranging from 1–43 days. Discounting rates were estimated using hyperbolic and exponential models, as well as atheoretical area under the curve (AuC) analyses. Test-retest (relative) stability of the EPV procedure compared favorably with choice procedures (r =.75). Where discounting rates are used as a dependent variable, brief EPV procedures combined with atheoretical analyses of discounting rates are a more sensitive means to detect subtle experimental effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 2975

    Justin Harrison

  2. ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, England

    Ryan McKay

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Harrison, J., McKay, R. Delay Discounting Rates are Temporally Stable in an Equivalent Present Value Procedure Using Theoretical and Area under the Curve Analyses. Psychol Rec 62, 307–320 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395804

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