Sex Differences in Psychological Factors Associated with Social Discounting

Abstract

The social discounting paradigm is a powerful means of quantifying altruism in humans, who are typically willing to forgo some amount of personal earnings in exchange for increased earnings for another person. The amount of money that people are willing to forgo decreases with increasing social distance. In this study, we examined variables related to sex, intolerance of uncertainty, and empathy, all of which are theorized to affect the social discounting rate. Participants (27 men and 28 women) completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty, empathy, and social discounting. We found sex differences in psychological predictors of social discounting: in women, empathy (but not intolerance of uncertainty) predicts the social discounting rate, while in men, social discounting is associated with intolerance of uncertainty (but not empathy). Possible neurobiological, social, and cognitive explanations for this sex difference are discussed. cognitive performance, particularly in relation to the needs of active military personnel and returning combat veterans. He has been the recipient of multiple national research awards, including the 2012 Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award in Neuroscience.

Gender-Specific Effects of Cognitive Load on Social Discounting

“…We expected that cognitive load flattened the social discount function, reflecting the hypothesized social-distance-dependent cognitive-load effects on generosity. Finally, since one recent study identified different psychological predictors of social discounting in men and women [25], we also suggest a potential gender difference in cognitive load effects on social discounting.…”

Incentivising the Social Discounting Task: A Laboratory Experiment

“…Participants in Boyer et al's (2012) experiment included Chinese employees and Kenyan herders, while Sharp et al (2012) in turn studied 2 nd to 12 th grade boys. Yi et al (2011) employed active methamphetamine users as subjects, and Olson et al (2016) 18-45 year old community members.…”

“…Other studies, notably those investigating the psychology of social discounting, collect data using psychometric instruments. One example is Olson et al (2016), who employs the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), the Empathy Quotient (EQ60), and the WASI intelligence test, while Böckler et al (2016) utilise the Prosocialness Scale, Machiavelli Index, and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI).…”

“…In a typical experiment (e.g. Olson et al, 2016; subjects are asked to nominate specific individuals at particular social distances from 1 to 100. For instance, #1 might be a parent or a spouse, #5 might be a close friend and so on.…”

“…In Psychology, social discounting experiments in some cases focuses on the behavioural moderators explaining observed differences in altruism, including intolerance of uncertainty and empathy (Olson et al, 2016) and cognitive load (Strombach et al, 2016), which impact social discounting differently in men and women.…”