Animal models of obesity are numerous and diverse in terms of identifying specific neural and peripheral mechanisms related to obesity; however, they are limited when it comes to behavior. The standard behavioral measure of food intake in most animal models occurs in a free-feeding environment. While easy and cost-effective for the researcher, the free-feeding environment omits some of the most important features of obesity-related food consumption—namely, properties of food availability, such as effort and delay to obtaining food. Behavior economics expands behavioral measures of obesity animal models by identifying such behavioral mechanisms. First, economic demand analysis allows researchers to understand the role of effort in food procurement, and how physiological and neural mechanisms are related. Second, studies on delay discounting contribute to a growing literature that shows that sensitivity to delayed food- and food-related outcomes is likely a fundamental process of obesity. Together, these data expand the animal model in a manner that better characterizes how environmental factors influence food consumption.
Objectives: The relation between food insecurity (FI) and delay discounting (DD) and probability discounting (PD) for food and money was tested in women. In addition, discounting was tested as a variable that mediates the relation between obesity and FI. Method: Women recruited from a community sample (N = 92) completed questionnaires. They completed the food choice questionnaire, the monetary choice questionnaire, measures for food and money probability discounting (which quantify sensitivity to risk aversion), and demographic measures. Results: Women with FI had higher rates of obesity and higher food DD compared to food-secure women. However, DD for money or probability discounting for food or money did not significantly differ between FI and food secure groups when controlling for significant covariates. Neither DD or PD significantly mediated the relation between FI and obesity. Conclusions: These results suggest that FI is associated with greater impulsive food choice, but its association with other monetary discounting and probability discounting for food and money appears contingent upon other demographic factors.
Previous research indicates speaking may be emotionally and socially risky for adults who stutter (AWS) due to psychological distress induced by others following a dysfluency. This may impact communication-related decision-making; however, no measure had been developed to objectively quantify this variable. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Probability Discounting for Communication (PDC) task, a behavioral measure of risk taking that characterizes decreasing subjective value of hypothetical communication engagement as the probability of stuttering and listener reaction change. AWS (n = 67) and adults who do not stutter (AWNS; n = 93) were recruited from an online listserv and MTurk. Across a series of trials, participants completed the PDC by using a visual analog scale to indicate their subjective value of communication as probabilities of stuttering (1%-99%) and magnitudes of negative listener reaction risk (10%, 50%, 90%) were manipulated. They also completed measures of stuttering, communication, and demographics. Results revealed communication was discounted hyperbolically across increasing dysfluency odds. AWS showed more systematic discounting patterns compared to AWNS suggesting AWS may be more sensitive to communication due to experiences with stuttering. A magnitude effect was found with both AWS and AWNS discounting communication more steeply with increasing negative listener reaction risk. Significant associations were observed between discounting, stuttering, and communication measures among AWS, which indicates that sensitivity to risk in the context of stuttering and social reaction may influence communication engagement. Overall, the PDC functions as a measure to assess underlying decisionmaking patterns related to communication among AWS, which may inform treatment.
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