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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task
07:47

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task

Published on: January 9, 2016

Delay discounting in college cigarette chippers.

Gene M Heyman1, Samantha P Gibb

  • 1Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, USA. gmheyman@mclean.harvard.edu

Behavioural Pharmacology
|November 18, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Cigarette chippers, who smoke regularly without dependence, demonstrate less impulsivity than regular smokers. This difference was observed using a monetary choice task, suggesting reduced delay discounting in chippers.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Neuroscience of Addiction
  • Decision Making

Background:

  • Individuals who smoke but do not develop nicotine dependence (cigarette chippers) offer insights into factors inhibiting drug dependence.
  • Previous studies indicated chippers possess greater self-control than regular smokers, despite similar smoking patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate impulsivity differences between regular smokers, cigarette chippers, and nonsmokers using a behavioral choice procedure.
  • To determine if self-control differences observed in previous questionnaire-based studies generalize to behavioral measures of impulsivity.

Main Methods:

  • A behavioral choice task was administered to 71 undergraduate students (regular smokers, chippers, nonsmokers).
  • Participants chose between smaller, sooner monetary rewards and larger, delayed monetary rewards in hypothetical and real outcome versions.
  • The rate of discounting of delayed rewards was used as a measure of impulsivity.

Main Results:

  • Regular smokers exhibited higher preference for sooner, smaller rewards compared to chippers and nonsmokers, particularly when monetary outcomes were real.
  • Impulsivity, measured by delay discounting, decreased as the magnitude of monetary outcomes increased for all groups.
  • Discount rates were consistent across hypothetical and real monetary outcomes for smokers and chippers.

Conclusions:

  • Cigarette chippers appear to be less impulsive than regular smokers, supporting findings from self-control questionnaires.
  • The study establishes an analogy between delay discounting and psychophysical experiments, suggesting discount rates follow a power function of monetary value.