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Related Concept Videos

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder01:30

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It affects approximately 5-8% of children globally, with around 60-70% of cases persisting into adulthood. ADHD has significant implications for educational attainment, social interactions, and occupational success.
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.
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Timing and Consequences on Behavior

In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant factor...

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Related Experiment Video

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

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Published on: January 9, 2016

Temporal reward discounting and ADHD: task and symptom specific effects.

A Scheres1, A Lee, M Sumiya

  • 1Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. ascheres@u.arizona.edu

Journal of Neural Transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)
|September 19, 2007
PubMed
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Hyperactivity and impulsivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are linked to steeper discounting of rewards, but only when delays and rewards are real. This suggests real-world tasks better capture ADHD-related delay aversion.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with difficulties in decision-making.
  • Delay aversion, the tendency to prefer smaller, sooner rewards over larger, later rewards, is a key aspect of decision-making.
  • Previous research has explored the link between ADHD symptoms and delay aversion, but the role of real versus hypothetical rewards and delays requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between ADHD symptoms and delay aversion using both real and hypothetical temporal discounting tasks.
  • To determine if real-world reward and delay scenarios are more sensitive to ADHD-related delay aversion than hypothetical ones.
  • To explore the potential causal role of delay aversion in specific ADHD subtypes.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 55 undergraduate psychology students with varying levels of self-reported ADHD symptoms.
  • Administered real and hypothetical temporal discounting tasks to assess delay aversion.
  • Analyzed the correlation between ADHD symptom severity (particularly hyperactivity/impulsivity) and discounting behavior.

Main Results:

  • ADHD symptoms, specifically hyperactivity/impulsivity, were significantly associated with steeper discounting when rewards and delays were real.
  • Hypothetical temporal discounting tasks showed a weaker association with ADHD symptoms compared to real tasks.
  • These findings suggest that real-world delay aversion may be a more sensitive indicator of ADHD-related decision-making deficits.

Conclusions:

  • Real temporal discounting tasks are more sensitive to ADHD-related delay aversion than hypothetical tasks.
  • Delay aversion may be a causal mechanism particularly relevant to ADHD-Combined and Hyperactive/Impulsive Types, but not necessarily the Inattentive Type.
  • These insights can inform the development of more effective behavioral treatments and refine existing models of ADHD.