Social discounting: The effect of outcome uncertainty

Social discounting refers to the fact that most people assign more value to the welfare of close affiliates than they do to the welfare of distant affiliates-they discount the latter compared to the former. We report the first study to apply a social discounting paradigm to boys. We were particularly interested in investigating the relations between social discounting, age, and externalizing behavior problems (antisocial behavior). Results showed that (1) preadolescent boys were more likely than adolescent boys to show atypical response patterns in allocating rewards to affiliates; (2) task behavior was well represented as social discounting once boys with atypical response patterns were deleted from the sample, and (3) boys functioning in the clinical range on indices of externalizing behavior problems demonstrated steeper social discounting compared to controls. We conclude that social discounting as a measure of perceived social closeness is feasible for use in adolescent samples.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Social Discounting and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Boys

Sharp

Barr

Ross

et al. 2011

“…Later studies demonstrated greater generosity with family members versus non‐members (Rachlin & Jones, ) and that social discounting correlated with temporal and probability discounting (Jones & Rachlin, ). Lastly, Osinski () reported that social discounting rate was influenced by social distance to another individual, prior experience of reciprocity with that other individual, reward magnitude, and when the decisions on how to use the money were made mutually between participant and receiver. Relevant to the present study, Jones and Rachlin () reported that social discounting was positively correlated with the amount contributed in a hypothetical public goods game.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Discounting and Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy

Bradstreet¹,

Higgins²,

Heil³

et al. 2011

In this study we examined the association between social discounting and smoking status in a cohort of pregnant cigarette smokers (n=91), quitters (n=27), or never-smokers (n=30). The smokers and quitters were participants in clinical trials on smoking cessation and relapse prevention, while the never-smokers were controls in a study on nicotine withdrawal during pregnancy. Social discounting was assessed using a paper and pencil task that assesses the amount of hypothetical money a person is willing to forgo in order to share with individuals in their social network ranging from the person who is emotionally closest to them to a mere acquaintance. The amount that women were willing to forgo in order to share decreased hyperbolically as a function of social distance, with smokers exhibiting steeper discounting functions (i.e., less generosity) than quitters or never-smokers; discounting functions of quitters and never-smokers did not differ significantly. In multivariate analyses controlling for potential sociodemographic and other confounds, social discounting remained a significant predictor of smoking status among smokers versus quitters. Overall, these results suggest that individual differences in social discounting may be a factor influencing the choices that women make about quitting smoking upon learning of a pregnancy.

“…It allows modeling of crossover points even when they are inconsistent with other choices. AUC has been used in other analyses of SD (Jones & Rachlin, ; Osiński, ; Strombach et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possible variable affecting rates of altruism in humans is the perceived uncertainty of ultimately receiving a reciprocal reward. In experiments that manipulate the level of trustworthiness of the recipient, it has been demonstrated that SD rates are higher when the uncertainty that the recipient will reciprocate is higher (Osiński, , ). The extent to which uncertainty influences altruism may also depend on characteristics of the individual making the decision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Psychological Factors Associated with Social Discounting

Olson

Rosso

Demers

et al. 2015

The social discounting paradigm is a powerful means of quantifying altruism in humans, who are typically willing to forgo some amount of personal earnings in exchange for increased earnings for another person. The amount of money that people are willing to forgo decreases with increasing social distance. In this study, we examined variables related to sex, intolerance of uncertainty, and empathy, all of which are theorized to affect the social discounting rate. Participants (27 men and 28 women) completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty, empathy, and social discounting. We found sex differences in psychological predictors of social discounting: in women, empathy (but not intolerance of uncertainty) predicts the social discounting rate, while in men, social discounting is associated with intolerance of uncertainty (but not empathy). Possible neurobiological, social, and cognitive explanations for this sex difference are discussed. cognitive performance, particularly in relation to the needs of active military personnel and returning combat veterans. He has been the recipient of multiple national research awards, including the 2012 Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award in Neuroscience.