A behavioral economic analysis of texting while driving: Delay discounting processes

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine an impulsive decision-making process underlying texting while driving from a behavioral economic perspective. A sample of 108 college students completed a novel discounting task that presented participants with a hypothetical scenario in which, after receiving a text message while driving, they rated the likelihood of replying to a text message immediately versus waiting to reply for a specific period of time. Participants also completed a delay discounting task in which they made repeated hypothetical choices between obtaining a larger amount of money available after a delay and an equal or lesser amount of money available immediately. The results show that the duration of the delay is a critical variable that strongly determines whether participants choose to wait to reply to a text message, and that the decrease in the likelihood of waiting as a function of delay is best described by a hyperbolic delay discounting function. The results also show that participants who self-reported higher frequency of texting while driving discounted the opportunity to reply to a text message at greater rates, whereas there was no relation between the rates of discounting of hypothetical monetary rewards and the frequency of texting while driving. The results support the conclusion that texting while driving is fundamentally an impulsive choice.

Texting while driving, executive function, and impulsivity in college students

“…With respect to the behavioral measure of impulsivity as assessed by delay discounting of hypothetical monetary rewards, however, the present findings that there was no significant relation between a behavioral measure of impulsivity and the frequency of texting while driving are consistent with Hayashi et al’s (2016) study but inconsistent with Hayashi et al’s (2015) study. It is important to note that when a behavioral measure of impulsivity was assessed by delay discounting of social rewards in Hayashi et al (2016), a significant relation was found between the frequency of texting while driving and the behavioral measure of impulsivity. These inconsistencies between self-reported and behavioral measures of impulsivity, as well as between different types of rewards to be discounted, have been reported in the literature (e.g., Johnson et al, 2015; Malesza and Ostaszewski, 2016).…”

“…They found that students who frequently texted while driving were more impulsive as measured by the delay discounting task. In a subsequent study by Hayashi et al (2016) using a hypothetical texting while driving scenario, impulsivity was measured by delay discounting of both monetary and social rewards (i.e., opportunities to reply to a text message). Consistent with the previous study, students who frequently texted while driving were more impulsive, only with the social reward.…”

A Behavioral Economic Analysis of Demand for Texting while Driving

“…Hayashi, Russo, and Wirth (2015) found that drivers who frequently text while driving were more impulsive, as measured by the degree of delay discounting with hypothetical monetary reinforcers, than those who infrequently text while driving. In a subsequent study, Hayashi, Miller, Foreman, and Wirth (2016) examined whether opportunities to text while driving as a social reinforcer were subject to delay discounting. In a delay-discounting task with a hypothetical scenario, participants rated their likelihood of immediately replying to a text message received while driving versus waiting to reply until arriving at a destination.…”

“…Finally, the third purpose of the present study was to assess the construct validity of the novel demand task by testing whether a variable known to affect texting while driving, such as delay to a destination (e.g., Hayashi et al, 2016), can affect drivers’ demand for social interaction from texting while driving. In the hypothetical scenarios, two delay conditions were presented: Drivers receive a text message when their arrival to a destination is 15 min or 60 min.…”

“…In the hypothetical scenarios, two delay conditions were presented: Drivers receive a text message when their arrival to a destination is 15 min or 60 min. Based on the previous studies on delay discounting and texting while driving (Hayashi et al, 2016, 2017), it was hypothesized that demand for texting while driving would be greater under the 60-min delay condition than under the 15-min delay condition.…”