Reformative self‐control and discounting of reward value by delay or effort¹

Abstract

Abstract:The relation between reformative self-control and discounting of reward value by delay or effort was examined. Thirty-two Japanese undergraduates were selected based on their scores on a standardized pencil and paper test of self-control, the RedressiveReformative Self-Control Scale (Sugiwaka, 1995). The subjects indicated their preference (i) between a hypothetical 100 000 yen reward available with various delays and a certain reward of variable amount available immediately; or (ii) between a hypothetical 100 000 yen reward available with various efforts and a certain reward of variable amount available without effort. The discounting of delayed reward value was described well by a hyperbolic function proposed by Mazur (1987). The slopes of the delayed discounting curves were steeper for subjects who scored low on the Reformative Self-Control Scale, which is a measure of reformative self-control and a subscale of the Redressive-Reformative SelfControl Scale. The discounting by effort was also described well by the hyperbolic function. The slopes of the effortful discounting curves did not correlate to those of the delayed discounting curves. The slopes were not systematically different across the groups of subjects with different scores on the reformative self-control scale.

Delayed discounting of pain with and without monetary reward

“…$10 now or $100 tomorrow. There are other types of discounting -probabilistic, social (Rachlin, 1993), and effort discounting (Mitchell, 1999;Sugiwaka & Okouchi, 2004) -but delayed discounting seems to have been studied the most.…”

Testing the construct validity of the Discounting Inventory – Psychometric properties of a Polish and German samples

“…This solution was also supported by comparing four-factor model with onefactor model. These factors were closely associated with the theoretical four dimensions, which we have referred to as delay discounting, probabilistic discounting, social discounting, and effort discounting (Green & Myerson, 2004;Ostaszewski et al, 1998;Rachlin, 1993;Sugiwaka & Okouchi, 2004). The fit of the model is high when considering the χ 2 /df or the RMSEA measures.…”

“…Confirmatory Factor Analyses, using structural equation modeling (Maximum Likelihood), was used to confirm the factor structure of the data, and these analyses indicated that the four-factor structure proposed had the best fit to the data. These factors were closely associated with the theoretical four dimensions, which we have referred to as delay discounting, probabilistic discounting, social discounting, and effort discounting (Green & Myerson, 2004;Ostaszewski et al, 1998;Rachlin, 1993;Sugiwaka & Okouchi, 2004). Additionally, to meet the need for a shorter instrument that assesses all four types of discounting efficiently, the authors decided to reduce the remaining pull of items.…”

“…Of course, the value of a reward decreases as a function of variables other than time (see: Green & Myerson, 1996;Myerson & Green, 1995;Ostaszewski, 1997;Rachlin et al, 1991). Apart from the discounting of delayed rewards, behavioral psychology also studies probabilistic discounting (the process by which the subjective value of the gain diminishes together with the decreasing probability of achieving the gain; Ostaszewski, Green, & Myerson, 1998), and effort discounting (the decrease in subjective value of the gain coinciding with the increasing effort needed for gaining the reward; Mitchell, 2004;Sugiwaka & Okouchi, 2004), as well as social discounting (defined as the process by which the subjective value of the reinforcement diminishes according to the increasing number of people with whom the reward is to be shared; Rachlin, 1993).…”

Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model of Temperament and the Discounting of Delayed and Effortful Outcomes Among Adolescents

“…On the other hand, there is much less research on effort discounting (i.e., decrease of the subjective value of a reward, when effort required to obtain the reward increases). To the author's best knowledge, there are only a few studies published on this topic within behavioral psychology (Malesza & Ostaszewski, 2013;Mitchell, 1999Mitchell, , 2004Ostaszewski, Bąbel, & Swebodziński, 2013;Sugiwaka & Okouchi, 2004). However, there is a growing number of results showing the involvement of neurobiological factors in determining the rate of temporal discounting and of effort discounting, showing that the nucleus accumbens has been implicated in playing a fundamental role in certain forms of decision-making, as inactivation of its function reduces preference for larger rewards that are either delayed, or associated with a greater effort cost (e.g., Cardinal, Pennicott, Sugathapala, Robbins, & Everitt, 2001;Hauber & Sommer, 2009;Ishiwari, Weber, Mingote, Correa, & Salamone, 2004;Walton, Kennerley, Bannerman, Phillips, & Rushworth, 2006).…”