The value of emotion: how does episodic prospection modulate delay discounting?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroeconomics
• Decision Science

Background:

• Intertemporal choice is often characterized by delay discounting, where immediate smaller rewards are preferred over delayed larger rewards.
• Episodic prospection, the ability to vividly imagine future events, is proposed to significantly influence delay discounting.
• The emotional valence of imagined future events may mediate this influence on intertemporal decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how episodic prospection, specifically its emotional valence, modulates delay discounting in humans.
• To determine if imagining positive, negative, or neutral future events differentially affects choices between immediate and delayed rewards.

Main Methods:

• Three studies were conducted to explore the relationship between episodic prospection and delay discounting.
• Participants' choices between immediate and delayed monetary rewards were analyzed under conditions of imagining positive, negative, or neutral future events.
• Control conditions without imagining future events were used for comparison.

Main Results:

• Imagining positive future events increased preference for delayed rewards.
• Imagining negative future events increased preference for immediate rewards.
• Imagining neutral future events did not significantly alter choice preferences compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• The emotional valence of episodic prospection plays a crucial role in modulating delay discounting.
• Positive emotions associated with future events promote delayed gratification, while negative emotions promote immediate gratification.
• The capacity for episodic prospection influences the degree of change in delay discounting, while its emotional valence directs the change.