Are Impulsive Decisions Always Irrational? An Experimental Investigation of Impulsive Decisions in the Domains of Gains and Losses
Open Access
- 12 August 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 18 (16), 8518
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168518
Abstract
Intertemporal choices are very prevalent in daily life, ranging from simple, mundane decisions to highly consequential decisions. In this context, thinking about the future and making sound decisions are crucial to promoting mental and physical health, as well as a financially sustainable lifestyle. In the present study, we set out to investigate some of the possible underlying mechanisms, such as cognitive factors and emotional states, that promote future-oriented decisions. In a cross-sectional experimental study, we used a gain and a loss version of an intertemporal monetary choices task. Our main behavioural result indicated that people are substantially more impulsive over smaller and sooner monetary losses compared to equivalent gains. In addition, for both decisional domains, significant individual difference predictors emerged, indicating that intertemporal choices are sensitive to the affective and cognitive parameters. By focusing on the cognitive and emotional individual factors that influence impulsive decisions, our study could constitute a building block for successful future intervention programs targeted at mental and physical health issues, including gambling behaviour.Funding Information
- Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii (PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-1655)
This publication has 83 references indexed in Scilit:
- Delayed reward discounting and addictive behavior: a meta-analysisPsychopharmacology, 2011
- A comparison of delay discounting among smokers, substance abusers, and non-dependent controlsDrug and Alcohol Dependence, 2010
- Heritability of Delay Discounting in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin StudyBehavior Genetics, 2010
- Behavioral and neuroeconomics of drug addiction: Competing neural systems and temporal discounting processesDrug and Alcohol Dependence, 2007
- The Effects of Framing, Reflection, Probability, and Payoff on Risk Preference in Choice TasksOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1999
- All Frames Are Not Created Equal: A Typology and Critical Analysis of Framing EffectsOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1998
- Framing Effects and Arenas of Choice: Your Money or Your Life?Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1997
- Framing Effects: Dynamics and Task DomainsOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1996
- An information processing view of framing effects: The role of causal schemas in decision makingMemory & Cognition, 1996
- Modeling Myopic Decisions: Evidence for Hyperbolic Delay-Discounting within Subjects and AmountsOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1995