Delay discounting: trait variable?

Abstract

Delay discounting refers to the tendency for outcomes that are remote in time to have less value than more immediate outcomes. Steep discounting of delayed outcomes is associated with a variety of social maladies. The degree of sensitivity to delayed outcomes may be a stable and pervasive individual characteristic. In analyses of archival data, the present study found positive correlations between the degree of delay discounting for one outcome (as measured by the Area Under the Curve), and the degree of discounting for other outcomes. Along with additional evidence reviewed, these data suggest that delay discounting may be considered a personality trait. Recent research in epigenetics, neuroscience, and behavior suggests delay discounting may prove to be a beneficial target for therapeutic attempts to produce global reductions in impulsivity related to delay discounting.

Figure 1

Area Under the Curve (AUC) for money (left column) and consumable outcomes (right column) for four studies (rows). Error bars show one standard error above and below means.

Figure 2

Scatterplots relating Area Under the Curve (AUC) for one outcome to AUC for another outcome. The line through the data points was fitted with linear regression. The top panel shows data from Bickel et al. (1999), the second panel shows data from Odum et al. (2000), the third panel shows data from the $100 condition of Odum et al. (2006), and the bottom panel shows data from the $10 condition of Odum et al. (2006). See text for other details.

Figure 3

Area Under the Curve (AUC) for money (left column) and two consumable outcomes (center and right columns) for two studies (rows). Other details as in Figure 1.

Figure 4

Scatterplots relating Area Under the Curve (AUC) for one outcome to AUC for another outcome. The left column shows data from Odum and Rainaud (2003); the right column shows data from Odum and Baumann (2007). Other details as in Figure 2.

Figure 5

Area Under the Curve (AUC) for money (left column) and other outcomes (right column) averaged across all studies included in the analyses. Other details as in Figure 1.

Figure 6

Scatterplots relating Area Under the Curve (AUC) for one outcome to AUC for another outcome. Data are averaged across the studies presented in the prior figures. Other details as in Figure 2.