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Willis-Moore ME, Haynes JM, Frye CCJ, Johnson HM, Cousins DJ, Bamfo HD, Odum AL. Recent Experience Affects Delay Discounting: Evidence across Temporal Framing, Signs, and Magnitudes. Perspect Behav Sci 2024; 47:365-392. [PMID: 39099743 PMCID: PMC11294302 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-024-00412-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Delay discounting, the decrease in outcome value as a function of delay to receipt, is an extensive area of research. How delays are framed (i.e., temporal framing), as well as the sign and magnitude of an outcome, produce important effects on the degree to which outcomes are discounted. Here, we examined how recent experience (i.e., order of presentation) modifies these well-known findings. Experiment 1 examined the effects of temporal framing across gains and losses. Regardless of outcome sign, the order of task presentation affected the effect of temporal framing. In particular, when typical delay frames (e.g., 1 week) preceded delays framed as actual dates (e.g., February 15), discounting was less in the date-framed task. However, when dates were followed by the delay frame, there was no difference in the degree of discounting. The experience of date-framed delays persisted or carried over to the delay-framed task. Experiment 2 examined recent experience and the magnitude effect. In particular, $10 and $100 were discounted similarly between-subjects when it was the first task completed. However, once participants completed the second magnitude task, the magnitude effect was present both within-subjects and across subjects. Furthermore, $10 was discounted more steeply when it followed $100, and $100 was discounted less steeply when it followed $10. The impact of recent experience on delay discounting has important implications for understanding mechanisms that may contribute to delay discounting. Recent experience should be considered when designing delay discounting experiments as well as when implementing interventions to reduce steep delay discounting.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeremy M. Haynes
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | | | - Hannah M. Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL USA
| | | | - Humphrey D. Bamfo
- Department of Psychology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
| | - Amy L. Odum
- Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT USA
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Craig AR, Agnew CN, Derrenbacker KE, Antúnez BA, Sullivan WE, Smith SW, DeBartelo J, Roane HS. Resurgence of ethanol seeking following voluntary abstinence produced by nondrug differential reinforcement of other behavior. J Exp Anal Behav 2024; 121:314-326. [PMID: 38499477 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Resurgence refers to the relapse of a target behavior following the worsening of a source of alternative reinforcement that was made available during response elimination. Most laboratory analyses of resurgence have used a combination of extinction and alternative reinforcement to reduce target behavior. In contingency-management treatments for alcohol use disorder, however, alcohol use is not placed on extinction. Instead, participants voluntarily abstain from alcohol use to access nondrug alternative reinforcers. Inasmuch, additional laboratory research on resurgence following voluntary abstinence is warranted. The present experiment evaluated resurgence of rats' ethanol seeking following voluntary abstinence produced by differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). Lever pressing produced ethanol reinforcers during baseline phases. During DRO phases, lever pressing continued to produce ethanol and food reinforcers were delivered according to resetting DRO schedules. Ethanol and food reinforcers were suspended during resurgence test phases to evaluate resurgence following voluntary abstinence. Lever pressing was elevated during baseline phases and occurred at near-zero rates during DRO phases. During the resurgence test phases, lever pressing increased, despite that it no longer produced ethanol. The procedure introduced here may help researchers better understand the variables that affect voluntary abstinence from ethanol seeking and resurgence following voluntary abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R Craig
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Charlene N Agnew
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Kate E Derrenbacker
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Beatriz Arroyo Antúnez
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
- Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones en Comportamiento, Universidad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - William E Sullivan
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Sean W Smith
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Jacqueline DeBartelo
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Henry S Roane
- Golisano Center for Special Needs, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
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Luken A, Rabinowitz JA, Wells JL, Sosnowski DW, Strickland JC, Thrul J, Kirk GD, Maher BS. Designing and Validating a Novel Method for Assessing Delay Discounting Associated With Health Behaviors: Ecological Momentary Assessment Study. JMIR Form Res 2024; 8:e48954. [PMID: 38412027 PMCID: PMC10933719 DOI: 10.2196/48954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Delay discounting quantifies an individual's preference for smaller, short-term rewards over larger, long-term rewards and represents a transdiagnostic factor associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. Rather than a fixed trait, delay discounting may vary over time and place, influenced by individual and contextual factors. Continuous, real-time measurement could inform adaptive interventions for various health conditions. OBJECTIVE The goals of this paper are 2-fold. First, we present and validate a novel, short, ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-based delay discounting scale we developed. Second, we assess this tool's ability to reproduce known associations between delay discounting and health behaviors (ie, substance use and craving) using a convenience-based sample. METHODS Participants (N=97) were adults (age range 18-71 years), recruited on social media. In phase 1, data were collected on participant sociodemographic characteristics, and delay discounting was evaluated via the traditional Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) and our novel method (ie, 7-item time-selection and 7-item monetary-selection scales). During phase 2 (approximately 6 months later), participants completed the MCQ, our novel delay discounting measures, and health outcomes questions. The correlations between our method and the traditional MCQ within and across phases were examined. For scale reduction, a random number of items were iteratively selected, and the correlation between the full and random scales was assessed. We then examined the association between our time- and monetary-selection scales assessed during phase 2 and the percentage of assessments that participants endorsed using or craving alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis. RESULTS In total, 6 of the 7 individual time-selection items were highly correlated with the full scale (r>0.89). Both time-selection (r=0.71; P<.001) and monetary-selection (r=0.66; P<.001) delay discounting rates had high test-retest reliability across phases 1 and 2. Phase 1 MCQ delay discounting function highly correlated with phase 1 (r=0.76; P<.001) and phase 2 (r=0.45; P<.001) time-selection delay discounting scales. One or more randomly chosen time-selection items were highly correlated with the full scale (r>0.94). Greater delay discounting measured via the time-selection measure (adjusted mean difference=5.89, 95% CI 1.99-9.79), but not the monetary-selection scale (adjusted mean difference=-0.62, 95% CI -3.57 to 2.32), was associated with more past-hour tobacco use endorsement in follow-up surveys. CONCLUSIONS This study evaluated a novel EMA-based scale's ability to validly and reliably assess delay discounting. By measuring delay discounting with fewer items and in situ via EMA in natural environments, researchers may be better able to identify individuals at risk for poor health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Luken
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Jill A Rabinowitz
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Jonathan L Wells
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - David W Sosnowski
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Johannes Thrul
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gregory D Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Brion S Maher
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Okouchi H. Real, potentially real, and hypothetical monetary rewards in probability discounting. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 120:406-415. [PMID: 37694437 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Although hypothetical rewards have been used almost exclusively in human discounting studies, investigations of their validity are limited. The present experiment compared the discounting of monetary reward value by probability across conditions in which the rewards were real, potentially real, and hypothetical. Twenty-four undergraduates choose between an uncertain large reward and a certain small reward 60 times (trials). In the real and hypothetical reward conditions, the participants made choices with real and hypothetical money, respectively, in every trial. In the potentially real condition, they did so with real money in randomly selected three of the 60 trials and with hypothetical money in the remainder. The log10 -transformed h values of a hyperbolic probability-discount function and the values of the area under the curve with an ordinal transformation of odds against were higher and lower, respectively, in the potentially real and in the hypothetical reward conditions than in the real reward condition, demonstrating that the probability discounting of hypothetical monetary rewards was larger than that of real rewards. These results suggest that future studies are required to identify why the hypothetical reward procedure overestimates the discounting rates of real rewards.
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Reyes-Huerta HE, Robles E, Dos Santos CV. Valuing the future at different temporal points: The role of time framing on discounting. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 120:214-227. [PMID: 37323069 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The rate of delay discounting exhibited by individuals has been experimentally altered by manipulating the way in which time is described, a specific application of the framing effect. Previous research suggests that using specific dates to describe delays tends to lower temporal discounting and change the shape of the discounting function. The main purpose of this study was to assess the influence of framing on discounting in different temporal contexts. Participants chose between hypothetical monetary gains (gains group), or between hypothetical monetary losses (losses group). Each group completed eight discounting tasks over two sessions (two choice tasks [SmallNow/SmallSoon] by two time frames [dates/calendar units] by two magnitudes. The results indicate that Mazur's model adequately described the observed discounting functions in most conditions. However, the decrease in discounting rate when both consequences were delayed only occurred when calendar units (but not dates) were used for both gains and losses. These findings suggest that framing affects the influence of a shared delay instead of changing the shape of the discounting function. Our results support the idea that time influences behavior similarly in humans and nonhumans when they choose between two delayed consequences.
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Cox DJ, Brodhead MT. A Proof of Concept Analysis of Decision-Making with Time-Series Data. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-020-00451-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Harman M, Kodak T, McKerchar T. Effects of reward magnitude frames on measures of delay discounting in a hypothetical money scenario. J Exp Anal Behav 2020; 114:193-202. [PMID: 32729635 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The current study analyzed the effects of three frames of reward magnitude-quantity, volume, and duration-on the rate at which college students discounted hypothetical, delayed monetary rewards. Hypothetical scenarios were presented using the fill-in-the-blank discounting questionnaire and participants made choices between immediate and delayed hypothetical monetary rewards. Scenarios framed the monetary choices as (a) quantity of dollar bills, (b) height (inches) of a stack of dollar bills, and (c) duration of time spent in a hypothetical cash machine to collect dollar bills. For each scenario, participants' subjective values were used to calculate the area under the curve (AuC). Framing resulted in a moderate effect size: The duration frame yielded significantly smaller AuC values compared to the quantity and volume frames. Thus, the framing of reward magnitude was a significant variable in controlling discounting rates for hypothetical, delayed monetary rewards. Subsequent investigations should be aware of the independent effects of the reward magnitude frames on delay discounting rates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Todd McKerchar
- Department of Psychology, Jacksonville State University, USA
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Odum AL, Becker RJ, Haynes JM, Galizio A, Frye CCJ, Downey H, Friedel JE, Perez DM. Delay discounting of different outcomes: Review and theory. J Exp Anal Behav 2020; 113:657-679. [PMID: 32147840 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Steep delay discounting is characterized by a preference for small immediate outcomes relative to larger delayed outcomes and is predictive of drug abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and other maladaptive behaviors. Nancy M. Petry was a pioneer in delay discounting research who demonstrated that people discount delayed monetary gains less steeply than they discount substances with abuse liability. Subsequent research found steep discounting for not only drugs, but other nonmonetary outcomes such as food, sex, and health. In this systematic review, we evaluate the hypotheses proposed to explain differences in discounting as a function of the type of outcome and explore the trait- and state-like nature of delay discounting. We found overwhelming evidence for the state-like quality of delay discounting: Consistent with Petry and others' work, nonmonetary outcomes are discounted more steeply than monetary outcomes. We propose two hypotheses that together may account for this effect: Decreasing Future Preference and Decreasing Future Worth. We also found clear evidence that delay discounting has trait-like qualities: People who steeply discount monetary outcomes steeply discount nonmonetary outcomes as well. The implication is that changing delay discounting for one outcome could change discounting for other outcomes.
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Dolan SB, Johnson MW. The drug purity discounting task: Ecstasy use likelihood is reduced by probabilistic impurity according to harmfulness of adulterants. Drug Alcohol Depend 2020; 208:107772. [PMID: 31974022 PMCID: PMC7156028 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ecstasy typically contains adulterants in addition to, or in lieu of, MDMA which may pose a greater risk to users than MDMA itself. The current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of adulterant-related informational prompts in reducing Ecstasy use using a novel probability discounting task. METHODS An online sample of past-month Ecstasy users (N = 278) were randomized to one of four different framing prompt conditions: no prompt; a prompt describing MDMA's effects; a prompt describing adulterants as inert "filler"; or a prompt describing adulterants as pharmacologically-active, potentially-harmful compounds. Each prompt contained general, potential public-health information that was not specifically related to subsequent behavioral tasks. All participants then completed an identical Drug Purity Discounting Task, in which they indicated the likelihood of using a sample of Ecstasy across different probabilities of the sample being impure, and then completed a hypothetical Ecstasy purchasing task. RESULTS Likelihood of Ecstasy use decreased as impurity probability increased across conditions. Ecstasy use likelihood was highest in the "inert" prompt condition, whereas pharmacologically-active adulterant or adulterant-nonspecific prompts resulted in comparably low likelihood of use. Ecstasy-use likelihood did not differ among conditions when the likelihood of sample impurity was 0. Ecstasy purchasing did not differ among groups. Inelastic purchasing was associated with greater likelihood of using potentially-impure Ecstasy. CONCLUSIONS Altogether, these data highlight the necessity of education regarding pharmacologically-active, rather than inert, adulterants in Ecstasy, and suggest that increased access to drug checking kits and services may mitigate some of the harms associated with Ecstasy use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean B Dolan
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Dr., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
| | - Matthew W Johnson
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Dr., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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The Effect of Numeric Format on Probability Discounting Rates of Medical and Monetary Outcomes. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-019-00358-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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McKerchar TL, Mazur JE. Tests of an indifference rule in variable‐delay and double‐reward choice procedures with humans. J Exp Anal Behav 2019; 111:387-404. [DOI: 10.1002/jeab.521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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