Matching Items (3)
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Description
We hypothesized that recurrent exposure to a temporal discounting task would habitize participants, so that they become insensitive to framing effects. Temporal discounting is a behavioral trend which describes how people discount the value of a reward dependent on the time until receipt. Participants completed a temporal discounting task weekly

We hypothesized that recurrent exposure to a temporal discounting task would habitize participants, so that they become insensitive to framing effects. Temporal discounting is a behavioral trend which describes how people discount the value of a reward dependent on the time until receipt. Participants completed a temporal discounting task weekly for five weeks, to promote formation of a habitual decision strategy. Concomitant with this, we expected that people would shift their decision process from a deliberate, goal-oriented approach that is sensitive to changes in reward outcomes and environmental context, to a simplified, automatic approach that minimizes cognitive effort. We expected that this shift in decision strategy would be evident in a reduced influence of contextual effects on choice outcomes. We tested this hypothesis by leveraging two framing effects \u2014 the date/delay effect and the decimal effect. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that the date/delay effect is significant on week 1, shows significant changes in week 1 to week 5, and is no longer significant on week 5. The results for the decimal effects were not significant. We discuss these results with respect to the cognitive processes that underlie temporal discounting and self-control.
ContributorsSt Amand, Jesse Dean (Author) / McClure, Samuel (Thesis director) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Temporal discounting refers to our tendency to discount the value of future rewards. At the extreme, temporal discounting can give rise to detrimental myopic decision-making. Most studies examining the neural basis of temporal discounting in people have been performed using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). However, fMRI has relatively poor

Temporal discounting refers to our tendency to discount the value of future rewards. At the extreme, temporal discounting can give rise to detrimental myopic decision-making. Most studies examining the neural basis of temporal discounting in people have been performed using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). However, fMRI has relatively poor temporal resolution compared with the speed at which people make choices, so understanding choice dynamics using fMRI is difficult. We address the issue utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) to study cortical processes related to temporal discounting. The fMRI literature has found that a network of fronto-parietal brain regions plays an important role during the decision-making process. We aim to explore activity in these regions during the decision process and determine how cortical activity relates to choice parameters. Based on prior fMRI studies, we hypothesized that dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) may act as a regulator of dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and there will be an increase in dlPFC activity for more difficult decisions. We also hypothesized that neural activity may be directly related to the temporal discount rate we estimate behaviorally. We utilized regression analysis to determine the relationship. The results found supported our hypotheses. This study may open the door to a better understanding of the dynamic of brain regions while performing a temporal discounting task.
Created2017-05
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Description
People commonly make decisions and choices that could be delayed until a later time. This investigation examines two factors that may be especially important in these types of decisions: resource stability and comparison target. I propose that these two factors interact to affect whether individuals tend to adopt a delay

People commonly make decisions and choices that could be delayed until a later time. This investigation examines two factors that may be especially important in these types of decisions: resource stability and comparison target. I propose that these two factors interact to affect whether individuals tend to adopt a delay strategy or whether they engage in more present-oriented strategy. Specifically, this thesis study tested whether picturing one’s ideal led to the adoption of a delay strategy to a greater extent when resources were stable and to a lesser extent when resources were unstable. Participants read a house-hunting scenario in which the market was stable or unstable, and either pictured their ideal house at the beginning of the task or did not. As expected, participants in the stable housing market were more willing to delay choosing a house, though the predicted interaction between resource stability and comparison target did not emerge. Contrary to the predictions, however, participants who pictured their ideal house were more willing to choose a house immediately and were more satisfied with the house they chose. Overall, these findings did not lend support to the main argument of this investigation that picturing one’s ideal would promote a delay strategy under stable resource conditions. The finding that participants preferred immediate choice after picturing their ideal may have interesting implications for persuasion and advertising.
ContributorsAdelman, Robert Mark (Author) / Kwan, Virginia S Y (Thesis advisor) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Committee member) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015