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Salas-Morellón L, Palacios-Huerta I, Call J. Dynamic inconsistency in great apes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:18130. [PMID: 39103396 PMCID: PMC11300655 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67771-7] [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: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
When presented with the option of either an immediate benefit or a larger, later reward, we may behave impatiently by choosing instant gratification. Nonetheless, when we can make the same decision ahead of time and plan for the future, we tend to make more patient choices. Here, we explored whether great apes share this core feature of human decision-making, often referred to as dynamic inconsistency. We found that orangutans, bonobos, and gorillas tended to act impatiently and with considerable variability between individuals when choosing between an immediate reward and a larger-later reward, which is a commonly employed testing method in the field. However, with the inclusion of a front-end delay for both alternatives, their decisions became more patient and homogeneous. These results show that great apes are dynamically inconsistent. They also suggest that, when choosing between future outcomes, they are more patient than previously reported. We advocate for the inclusion of diverse time ranges in comparative research, especially considering the intertwinement of intertemporal choices and future-oriented behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Salas-Morellón
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Ignacio Palacios-Huerta
- Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
- Ikerbasque Foundation at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Josep Call
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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2
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O'Brien B, Rodriguez M, Gallitto E, Atance CM. Tomorrow versus a year from now: Do children represent the near and distant future differently? J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 241:105878. [PMID: 38354446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105878] [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: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Adults represent the near future more concretely and vividly than the distant future, with important implications for future-oriented behavior (e.g., planning, self-control). Although children are adept at describing future events at around 5 years of age, we know little about how temporal distance (i.e., "near" vs "distant") affects their future event representations. In a series of three experiments, we sought to determine the effects of temporal distance, age, and event frequency on children's future event representations. Participants, 5- to 9-year-olds, were asked to describe frequent (e.g., snack) and infrequent (e.g., party) events, with half of children imagining that these events would happen in the near future and the other half imagining that they would happen in the distant future. We investigated the effect of temporal distance on numerous event representation indicators (e.g., clarity, details, pronouns), all theoretically grounded in previous literature. Although children perceived near events as closer in time than distant events (Experiments 2 and 2b) and temporal distance affected the clarity of event representations (Experiment 2), most indicators were not affected by temporal distance. In contrast, event frequency (examined in Experiment 1) played an important role in children's event representations, with infrequent events being described more concretely than frequent events. Results suggest that young children may begin perceiving differences in temporal distance but that this does not translate to their event representations (e.g., clarity, pronouns) until later in development. Implications for children's future thinking and future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwyn O'Brien
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Michela Rodriguez
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Elena Gallitto
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Cristina M Atance
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
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3
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Guo Y, Dong D, Wu H, Xue Z, Zhou F, Zhao L, Li Z, Feng T. The intracortical myelin content of impulsive choices: results from T1- and T2-weighted MRI myelin mapping. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:7163-7174. [PMID: 36748995 PMCID: PMC10422924 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad028] [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: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Delay discounting (DD) refers to a phenomenon that humans tend to choose small-sooner over large-later rewards during intertemporal choices. Steep discounting of delayed outcome is related to a variety of maladaptive behaviors and is considered as a transdiagnostic process across psychiatric disorders. Previous studies have investigated the association between brain structure (e.g. gray matter volume) and DD; however, it is unclear whether the intracortical myelin (ICM) influences DD. Here, based on a sample of 951 healthy young adults drawn from the Human Connectome Project, we examined the relationship between ICM, which was measured by the contrast of T1w and T2w images, and DD and further tested whether the identified associations were mediated by the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of brain spontaneous activity. Vertex-wise regression analyses revealed that steeper DD was significantly associated with lower ICM in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and right middle-posterior cingulate cortex. Region-of-interest analysis revealed that the ReHo values in the left TPJ partially mediated the association of its myelin content with DD. Our findings provide the first evidence that cortical myelination is linked with individual differences in decision impulsivity and suggest that the myelin content affects cognitive performances partially through altered local brain synchrony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Guo
- School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship education, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
- Research Center of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
| | - Debo Dong
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Huimin Wu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhiyuan Xue
- School of Humanities and Management, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Le Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Zhangyong Li
- Research Center of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Klein SD, Collins PF, Luciana M. Developmental trajectories of delay discounting from childhood to young adulthood: longitudinal associations and test-retest reliability. Cogn Psychol 2022; 139:101518. [PMID: 36183669 PMCID: PMC10888509 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2022.101518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Delay discounting (DD) indexes an individual's preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards, and is considered a form of cognitive impulsivity. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that DD peaks in adolescence; longitudinal studies are needed to validate this putative developmental trend, and to determine whether DD assesses a temporary state, or reflects a more stable behavioral trait. In this study, 140 individuals aged 9-23 completed a delay discounting (DD) task and cognitive battery at baseline and every-two years thereafter, yielding five assessments over approximately 10 years. Models fit with the inverse effect of age best approximated the longitudinal trajectory of two DD measures, hyperbolic discounting (log[k]) and area under the indifference-point curve (AUC). Discounting of future rewards increased rapidly from childhood to adolescence and appeared to plateau in late adolescence for both models of DD. Participants with greater verbal intelligence and working memory displayed reduced DD across the duration of the study, suggesting a functional interrelationship between these domains and DD from early adolescence to adulthood. Furthermore, AUC demonstrated good to excellent reliability across assessment points that was superior to log(k), with both measures demonstrating acceptable stability once participants reached late adolescence. The developmental trajectories of DD we observed from childhood through young adulthood suggest that DD may index cognitive control more than reward sensitivity, and that despite modest developmental changes with maturation, AUC may be conceptualized as a trait variable related to cognitive control vs impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel D Klein
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Paul F Collins
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Monica Luciana
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Guo Y, Wu H, Li Z, Zhao L, Feng T. Episodic future thinking predicts differences in delay discounting: The mediating role of hippocampal structure. Front Psychol 2022; 13:992245. [PMID: 36312178 PMCID: PMC9596978 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that engagement in episodic future thinking (EFT) could reduce delay discounting rates. However, little is known about whether individual differences in the ability of EFT are associated with differences in delay discounting in young adults. In the present study, this association was tested in healthy college students (n = 106, 19.98 ± 1.56 years), and the neural basis underlying this association was also examined using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method. Behavioral analysis indicated that individual differences in EFT ability can significantly negatively predict discounting rates. VBM analysis first revealed that the EFT score positively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) of a cluster in hippocampus, while negatively correlated with GMV of a cluster in rostral anterior cingulate cortex. We also found the GMV of a cluster in the mPFC was positively correlated with delay discounting. ROI analysis further revealed that individual differences in delay discounting could be reliably predicted by the GMV in the hippocampus and mPFC. The final mediation analysis showed that the GMV of the hippocampus plays a significant mediating role in the association between EFT and delay discounting, and the indirect effect of the hippocampal GMV accounts for 33.2% of the total effect. Our results suggest that individuals’ EFT ability may be an important determinant of differences in delay discounting, and highlight the hippocampal structure as a neural biomarker for explaining the association between EFT ability and delay discounting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Guo
- School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
- School of Bioinformatics, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- *Correspondence: Yiqun Guo, ; Tingyong Feng,
| | - Huimin Wu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhangyong Li
- School of Bioinformatics, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
| | - Le Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- *Correspondence: Yiqun Guo, ; Tingyong Feng,
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Wang Z, Gao X. Patience Is a Virtue: Theory of Mind Longitudinally Predicts Children's Delay during School Transition. Dev Neuropsychol 2022; 47:233-246. [PMID: 35786101 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2022.2094382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Four- to seven-year-old children participated in a battery of tasks assessing their theory of mind, conflict inhibition, and delay at time 1, and theory of mind and delay one year later at time 2. Cross-lagged analysis revealed that earlier theory of mind predicted later delay after controlling for earlier conflict inhibition and theory of mind, child age, and family socioeconomic status. The findings highlighted the dynamic nature of the association between theory of mind and delay during the school transition years in its strength and direction, and the increasing specificity in the structure of executive function with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenlin Wang
- Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Xiaozi Gao
- Centre for Educational and Developmental Sciences, the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Kushnir T. Imagination and social cognition in childhood. WIRES COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2022; 13:e1603. [PMID: 35633075 PMCID: PMC9539687 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Imagination is a cognitive process used to generate new ideas from old, not just in the service of creativity and fantasy, but also in our ordinary thoughts about alternatives to current reality. In this article, I argue for the central function of imagination in the development of social cognition in infancy and childhood. In Section 1, I review a work showing that even in the first year of life, social cognition can be viewed through a nascent ability to imagine the physical possibilities and physical limits on action. In Section 2, I discuss how imagination of what should happen is appropriately constrained by what can happen, and how this influences children's moral evaluations. In the final section, I suggest developmental changes in imagination—especially the ability to imagine improbable events—may have implications for social inference, leading children to learn that inner motives can conflict. These examples point to a flexible and domain‐general process that operates on knowledge to make social meaning. This article is categorized under:Psychology > Development and Aging Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development Philosophy > Knowledge and Belief
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamar Kushnir
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
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Promoting future-oriented thought in an academic context. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Burns P, Atance C, O'Connor AP, McCormack T. The effects of cueing episodic future thinking on delay discounting in children, adolescents, and adults. Cognition 2021; 218:104934. [PMID: 34749044 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Discounting the value of delayed rewards such that even a relatively small, immediately available reward is preferred to a larger delayed reward is a commonly observed human trait. Children are particularly steep discounters of delayed rewards as evidenced by delay of gratification studies. In recent years, however, a growing literature indicates that cueing individuals to imagine personal future events attenuates their discounting of delayed rewards. The present studies extend this literature by examining whether cueing future thinking promotes patient choices in children and adolescents. In Experiment 1 we found that cueing future thinking had no effect on 8-11-year-olds' (n = 177) delay discounting of either real or hypothetical rewards. In Experiment 2 we found that cueing adolescents (12-14-year-olds, n = 126) and adults (n = 122) to think about personal future events decreased their discounting of delayed rewards relative to three other conditions: a no cue control, an episodic memory condition and a novel 'future other' condition in which individuals imagine future events that might happen to a significant other person in their life. Cueing adults and adolescents to think about personal future events did not however affect how connected they felt to their future selves or their subjective sense of how close future time points felt to them - two constructs that have previously been shown to be related to delay discounting.
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