Delay discounting in aging: The influence of cognitive and psychological variables.

Abstract

Delay discounting (or temporal discounting) refers to the decrease of the subjective value of a reward as the time interval for receiving that reward increases. A recent meta-analysis showed that delay discounting appears to be similar across the lifespan as younger, middle-aged, and older adults prefer sooner rewards, despite smaller, over later rewards, even if larger. However further investigation is needed to understand the potential role of individual factors in delay discounting across the lifespan. The present study aimed to contribute to this debate, by investigating the influence of sociodemographic, neurocognitive, and psychological variables on delay discounting. For this purpose, 88 participants (30 younger, 30 middle-aged, and 28 older adults) aged between 19 and 73 years old completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ), a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests, and self-report measures of psychopathology. Results revealed no group differences in the rate of discounting. A well-established effect of the amount of the delayed reward was replicated, showing that medium rewards were less discounted than smaller rewards, and larger rewards had lower discounting rates than smaller and medium rewards—the magnitude effect. Regarding the influence of neurocognitive and psychological factors on delay discounting, better working memory, as assessed by the Corsi block-tapping task, significantly predicted larger magnitude effects. The findings of the current work are consistent with the results of previous studies, suggesting that temporal discounting is a stable function across the adult life span.

Clinical, psychosocial and demographic factors affect decisions in SLE people

“…Delay discounting is the process that permits an individual to make value comparisons between immediate versus delayed rewards (Loewenstein, 1988). Numerous studies indicate that delay discounting anomalies are closely linked to poor psychological health, including depression, anxiety, and perceived stress (Campbell & Egede, 2022; Macedo et al, 2022). It is also associated with lower levels of social support, alcohol consumption, and severe depressive disorders (Felton et al, 2020).…”

Timing, neural timescales, and temporal cognition.

“…Jayachandranet al (2022) report compelling evidence that sex and estrous cycle are not major factors modulating the capacity to remember temporal olfactory sequences in rats. Macedo et al (2022) review the link between cognitive aging and the rate of decline in the value of goods that are delayed in time, as assessed in temporal, or delay, discounting paradigms. And Kendall and Wikenheiser (2022) examine the relationship between timing processes and foraging, with a focus on how an internal sense of time might relate to the tendency to overstay in a given food patch, despite depleting returns, and foregoing higher returns.…”