The study examined how individuals make decisions on hypothetical sexual partners and hypothetical monetary rewards in delay and probability discounting. The participants (N-75, males=42 (M=34) and females=33(M=39)) completed an electronic survey via Qualtrics. The survey consisted of 6 tasks: 1. Multiple Stimulus without Replacement Preference Assessment that consisted of pictures of potential sex partners based on the individual’s gender preference (male, female, or both); 2. Sexual Risk Survey; 3. Monetary delay discounting task; 4. Monetary probability discounting task; 5. Delay discounting of hypothetical sexual partners; and 6. Probability discounting of hypothetical sexual partners. An analysis of area under the curve (AUC) were done for the discounting tasks. The results showed that males devalued delayed sexual partner choice rank higher rates than females (t (7.97) = 2.85, p<0.05). This was also observed in females with higher scores of the Sexual Risk Survey than the lower scorers (t (10.95) = 2.35, p<0.05). AUC reflected on the scores of the SRS and with measures of sexual risk behaviours. However, there were no significant difference in discounting monetary rewards between the genders (t (11.96) = 0.1623, p>0.05).

The present study examines delay, probability, and social discounting with money in relations to self-reported values. The participants completed a values questionnaire including questions regarding God, sex, and politics, and were divided into a low values and a high values group with the low values group n=10 and high values group = 10 for a total n=20. These groups were compared in the delay, probability, and social discounting tasks. Results indicate little to no difference in discounting between groups with an AUC for the low values group (.47), (.322), (.196), respectively and the AUC for the high values group at (.494), (.411), (.288) respectively. Individual scores for area under the curve (AUC) were tested for degree of correlation to each values question. Results indicate moderate correlations between temporal discounting and 5 sex value questions. Moderate correlations between probability discounting and political and sex value questions were observed. Finally, correlations between social discounting and politics, religious, and sex values were observed. Keywords: delay discounting, probability discounting, social discounting, politics, sex, religion

The present study showed the impact of discounting across multiple populations that were obese to that of matched controls. The experiment used one decreasing hypothetical temporal procedure and three probabilistic health discounting procedures in which, of 38 participants interviewed, 20 were obese. It appears that age and obesity alter the subjective values of the delayed rewards within both temporal and probabilistic paradigms. The current data showed a significant difference between populations that were obese to that of the matched controls. In addition, statistically significance was found between the two obese populations within the study. Implications of the future of delay discounting are addressed, in addition to the stigma of delay discounting within behavior analysis.

A delay discounting survey was provided to 30 participants to assess hypothetical choices. Each question provided choices between using a complementary plastic bag and harming an ocean animal or purchasing a reusable bag and not harming an ocean animal. Participants were randomly assigned to complete a control or values-based activity. The values-based activity utilized Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to assist in identifying participants’ values and committed actions, whereas the control activity included a word association game. Discounting scores were calculated across delay discounting surveys conducted pre- and post-activity completion. The purpose of the study was to assess relationships between completion of activities (values-based or control) and discounting scores on items pertaining to environmental sustainability. Implications, limitations, and future directions are provided and discussed

Delay discounting involves a hypothetical choice between a smaller-sooner value and a larger-later value. Past research has demonstrated the hypothetical choices made in delay discounting correlate with actual money choices and predict impulsivity with drug use, gambling, and food choices. Though delayed discounting has been studied widely, it is unknown whether impulsivity is a characteristic trait or is influenced by contextual cues. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to improve psychological well-being in various contexts. The present study explored the effect of brief mindfulness exercises on impulsivity through a multiple baseline design across 5 participants. Results were mixed, with some participant’s AUCs increasing post-treatment and others remaining the same or decreasing. The current study raised some questions for future research regarding the contextual control of mindfulness and impulsivity.

Academic procrastination is a highly prevalent issue among students of all education levels and is associated with negative outcomes across many domains (e.g., grades, and physical and mental health, Zentall, 2021). Currently, the majority of research on academic procrastination and its impact on educational outcomes implements questionnaires or self-reports, which are not cohesive with a behavior-analytic approach to procrastination. This situation limits a behavioral understanding of procrastination, and thus the development of effective related interventions. The present study aimed to contribute to this gap by testing the relationship between performance in a systematic replication of the academic discounting task (ADT) designed by Olsen et al. (2018) and three temporally-based measures of academic procrastination, which were collected via the students’ course progress in their Learning Management System platforms (D2L): (a) latency to turn assignments in hours (LTA; average time in hours that elapsed between when the assignments were made available by the instructor and the student turned them in), (b) latency of starting to work on assignments in hours (LWA; average time in hours it takes a student to start working on assignments after the instructor has made them available), and (c) time-to-deadline of submitting assignments in hours (TTD; average time in hours between the time assignments were due and when they were submitted). An association between TTD and ADT k values (a measure of rate of discounting), as well as an association between the three behavioral measures was found. Also, a significant difference in ADT k values between students who reported being employed versus unemployed students was observed. Lastly, a positive association between TTD and ADT k values, and a negative association between TTD and ADT AUC values was found; namely, high rates of discounting during the ADT predicted less postponement of assignment submission. These findings altogether provide additional support for the validity of the ADT as a measure of hyperbolic discounting of academic outcomes and the relevance of the three behavioral measures of academic procrastination. However, the unexpected finding that participants who submitted their assignments earlier displayed higher rates of academic discounting during the ADT does not support Olsen et al.’s prediction that delayed academic rewards are the key contributor to student procrastination. Alternatively, it seems that more research is needed to explore the role of aversive factors in procrastination (e.g., effort required to complete the assignment and/or difficulty of the assignment or probability that the hypothetical assignment would produce the related reinforcers, such as a good grade).

Temporal discounting can be used to evaluate impulsivity in various populations. One assessment measure that can be used is a monetary choice questionnaire in which individuals are provided with an option to select a specified amount of money now, or a different amount following a temporal delay. This study examines the convergent validity of a long monetary choice questionnaire consisting of 189 questions and a brief monetary choice questionnaire consisting of 7 questions, in which participants can select all of the amounts they would prefer to acquire. The results of this study suggested that there is convergent validity between the two surveys through the use of Pearson’s correlation (r=.648, p< .001) and a paired samples t- test that demonstrated that the difference between the AUC scores was not significant (p=.287). Keywords: discounting, convergent validity, impulsivity, self- control, temporal discounting

Personal investors must postpone gratification and manage risk. This thesis examines the effects of delay and risk on personal investment decisions. The delay discounting literature is employed in developing a new parameter �ki� which integrates an investment�s term and interest rate with the hyperbolic delay discounting model. By indicating the extent to which compound interest growth compensates for hyperbolic delay discounting, ki should strongly predict the subjective appeal of prospective investment returns. Six binary-choice experiments test this hypothesis, especially via a subsidiary hypothesis that exponential growth from compound interest will eventually compensate for delay, given a sufficient term. Analyses include a novel application of signal detection principles, which found ki a superior predictor of investment appraisals compared to the normative exponential delay discounting model. Subject to boundary conditions of term and investment amount, results support the predictive capacity of ki for gross returns, implying a hitherto unrecognised degree of predictability for investment decisions. To investigate perceptions of risk with delay, three additional experiments compared preferences among hypothetical investments with varying risk and term. Risk seeking and risk aversion were detected, consistent with individual differences in hyperbolic probability discounting rates. Excessive risk aversion proved the greater problem, encouraging unnecessarily conservative investment decisions. Unexpectedly, no evidence of delay discounted risk was found. Responses consistent with higher probability discounting of larger amounts occurred, but only for a longer rather than a shorter investment term. A survey of postgraduate finance students examined how investment past performance is interpreted. Participants evaluated annual returns from hypothetical 10-year investments that varied in their mean return, volatility, and sequence of high and low returns. Evaluations generally reflected underlying investment properties. Maladaptive appraisal tendencies included unwarranted attention to the order in which high and low returns occurred within a series. Overall for this dissertation, results suggest that delay and probability discounting theory has practical relevance for understanding personal investment decisions. The principles and methodology in this dissertation are applicable to other varieties of financial and consumer behaviour.

Problem and pathological gambling has become an increasing public health concern worldwide in recent years, and individuals from China and East Asian countries may be especially vulnerable. Knowledge of how individuals make choices between outcomes that are delayed or uncertain, and of potential differences in decision making across cultures, may contribute to our understanding of factors which increase the risk of problem gambling. Our research is based on a discounting perspective in which the value of a delayed or uncertain reward decreases according to the time until or the odds against its receipt, respectively. We use experimental procedures in which individuals make a series of hypothetical choices so as to estimate an indifference point – an amount of money available immediately or with certainty – that is equal in subjective value to a delayed or uncertain reward. Our starting point is the hypothesis that reward contrast – in which the subjective value of a reward varies inversely with amount of a prior reward – plays a role in choice between delayed or probabilistic outcomes and might contribute to problem gambling. This thesis describes four experiments which investigate these ideas. Experiments 1 and 2 establish that reward contrast is a reliable phenomenon in choice. Indifference points for an intermediate reward ($475/$525) varied as predicted if its subjective value was larger when the individual had previously been making choices with a smaller amount ($50) and smaller when previously making choices with a larger amount ($5,000). Reward contrast was obtained for both delayed and probabilistic choice, using between-subjects (Experiment 1) and within-subjects (Experiment 2) designs. Experiment 3 used a computerized Card Playing Game (CPG) as an analogue gambling task and also measured delay discounting using the same task as Experiment 2. Participants began with an initial stake and could win or lose 10% of the stake with each card that they played. The critical aspect of the procedure was that the probability of winning for each card decreased as more cards were played. Participants played the CPG four times with stakes of $50, $500, $5,000 and $500 (order of $50 and $5,000 was counterbalanced). Results showed that performance on the CPG improved over successive trials, suggesting that participants learned the contingencies in the task. Although this confounded our attempt to measure reward contrast within-subjects, participants who had a $50 stake in the first deck performed better in the second deck with a $500 stake than those who had a $5,000 stake in the first deck, consistent with reward contrast. Results from the delay discounting task were correlated with CPG performance, showing that participants who had lower reward contrast and discounting rates, and greater magnitude effects won more money on the CPG task. Experiment 4 used a larger sample (N = 182) with both Chinese and Caucasian (New Zealand European) participants and recruited individuals with gambling histories, and compared performance on delay and probability discounting tasks and the CPG. Results showed that Chinese participants had higher delay discounting rates and lower probability discounting rates when data were analyzed according to the area under the discounting curve (AUC). Gamblers (those participants with scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen [SOGS; Lesieur & Blume, 1987] > 1) were less risk averse in probability discounting and had reduced magnitude effects in delay discounting and performed more poorly on the CPG. Closer analysis of the probability discounting data showed that compared with Caucasians, Chinese were more risk averse for high probabilities of reward outcome, and less risk averse for low probabilities. Although results do not suggest that individual differences in reward contrast, as measured using our within-subjects delay discounting task, play a significant role in the maintenance of gambling behavior, the cross-cultural differences in delay and probability discounting in Experiment 4 suggest some factors that might contribute to gambling. In the General Discussion, we propose an account of the probability discounting results in terms of a tendency toward dialectical thinking and emotions in Chinese culture. Based on this result and previous research, we propose a framework for the cross-cultural analysis of risky decision making, and consider some of its broader implications for both research in decision making and issues of globalization.

Personal investors must postpone gratification and manage risk. This thesis examines the effects of delay and risk on personal investment decisions. The delay discounting literature is employed in developing a new parameter �ki� which integrates an investment�s term and interest rate with the hyperbolic delay discounting model. By indicating the extent to which compound interest growth compensates for hyperbolic delay discounting, ki should strongly predict the subjective appeal of prospective investment returns. Six binary-choice experiments test this hypothesis, especially via a subsidiary hypothesis that exponential growth from compound interest will eventually compensate for delay, given a sufficient term. Analyses include a novel application of signal detection principles, which found ki a superior predictor of investment appraisals compared to the normative exponential delay discounting model. Subject to boundary conditions of term and investment amount, results support the predictive capacity of ki for gross returns, implying a hitherto unrecognised degree of predictability for investment decisions. To investigate perceptions of risk with delay, three additional experiments compared preferences among hypothetical investments with varying risk and term. Risk seeking and risk aversion were detected, consistent with individual differences in hyperbolic probability discounting rates. Excessive risk aversion proved the greater problem, encouraging unnecessarily conservative investment decisions. Unexpectedly, no evidence of delay discounted risk was found. Responses consistent with higher probability discounting of larger amounts occurred, but only for a longer rather than a shorter investment term. A survey of postgraduate finance students examined how investment past performance is interpreted. Participants evaluated annual returns from hypothetical 10-year investments that varied in their mean return, volatility, and sequence of high and low returns. Evaluations generally reflected underlying investment properties. Maladaptive appraisal tendencies included unwarranted attention to the order in which high and low returns occurred within a series. Overall for this dissertation, results suggest that delay and probability discounting theory has practical relevance for understanding personal investment decisions. The principles and methodology in this dissertation are applicable to other varieties of financial and consumer behaviour.