On several factors that control rates of discounting

Discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is either delayed or uncertain. Discounting has been widely studied because of its ubiquitous nature. Research from our laboratory has demonstrated that rates of discounting are systematically altered by several different factors. This paper outlines how the type of data-collection method (i.e., multiple choice vs. fill in the blank), how one frames the outcome being discounted (i.e., won vs. owed), and the type of outcome (i.e., money vs. medical treatment) by magnitude of the outcome (i.e., small vs. large) by type of discounting (i.e., delay vs. probability) interaction can potentially control observed rates of discounting. Such findings should not only be of interest to individuals who study the quantitative analyses of discounting, but also to researchers and theoreticians trying to understand and generalize findings from studies on discounting.