Temporal Discounting and Health Behavior: A Review

Abstract

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com IntroductionSeveral studies have shown that in choice situations between two alternatives associated with rewards of equal magnitude but that differ in delay until their receipt, organisms of different species tend to choose the one that is closest in time. It is relevant that even in some situations in which the sooner available alternative offers a smaller amount of reward, subjects continue to choose it over the larger but later one. Moreover, in choice situations between larger delayed, and smaller sooner loses, individuals tend to choose the larger but later consequence. This phenomenon has been called temporal discounting [1,2]. Likewise, it has been observed that risk associated with an outcome is a variable that could affect choice behavior. Usually, smaller gains associated with higher probabilities are preferred over larger gains with a lower probability [3]. In contrast, when alternatives consist of probabilistic losses, individuals tend to prefer those with a higher risk even when doing this implies the possibility of a greater loss occurring [4,5].The study of how time or probability can affect elections becomes especially relevant when attempting to explain some behaviors related to social problems. For example, some unhealthy behaviors such as nicotine or other substances abuse could involve the choice of an immediate reward instead of the future benefits of good health or, the preference for greater health losses with some probability over a certain smaller loss (such as quitting smoking). Furthermore, several studies have shown that individuals are not rational in their choices as economic model predicts, but often they show preference reversals [6][7][8]. That is, when both alternatives imply a waiting time, an individual could choose the one associated with the larger but more delayed outcome. However, as time passes, the individual may change his preference and choose the immediate one even if this involves shifting from his previous choice. These findings have important implications when it comes to explaining risky health decisions. For example, on Friday, someone might prefer to start exercising on Monday in order to have a healthier life, however, on Monday when the choice is between exercising and staying at home, the same individual could choose the second option even if this implied a reverse of his preference. The way in which a delayed reward loses its value has been described mathematically by different models, including normative economical models. The literature has shown however, that the discount of the value of a reward in both, humans and non-humans, implies a pattern well described by the hyperbolic equation proposed by Mazur [9] [10,11]. This equation predicts that people will not discount the value of alternatives in a constant rate; instead individual rates of discounting will be steeper at shorter delays than at larger waiting times. The mathematical form of this function is the following:where V represents the subjective valu...

Geographic patterns of implicit age bias and associations with state‐level health outcomes across the United States

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Setting a goal could help you control: Comparing the effect of health goal versus general episodic future thinking on health behaviors among cigarette smokers and obese individuals.

“…According to the behavioral economic concept of reinforcer pathology, both smoking and obesity, along with a number of other behavioral risk factors for disease, share two common behavioral characteristics: (a) excessive preference for short-term rewards at the expense of delayed, future outcomes and (b) excessive valuation and demand for an unhealthy reinforcer (e.g., cigarettes, fast food; Bickel, Jarmolowicz, Mueller, & Gatchalian, 2011; Bickel, Johnson, Koffarnus, MacKillop, & Murphy, 2014; Carr, Oluyomi Daniel, Lin, & Epstien, 2011). Preference for short-term rewards can be assessed with delay discounting (DD), a behavioral marker of addiction (Bickel, Koffarnus, Moody, & Wilson, 2014; Silva Castillo & Castillo, 2017; Story, Vlaev, Seymour, Darzi, & Dolan, 2014), and valuation of a reinforcer can be assessed with the demand purchase task (Jacobs & Bickel, 1999; MacKillop et al, 2008; Sze, Stein, Bickel, Paluch, & Epstein, 2017). Interventions that decrease rate of DD and/or decrease demand for an unhealthy reinforcer may control negative habits and promote positive health behaviors.…”

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