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Updated: Apr 14, 2026
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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
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The role of simulation in intertemporal choices.
Garret O'Connell1, Anastasia Christakou1, Bhismadev Chakrabarti1
1Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading Reading, UK.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|April 16, 2015
Summary
Simulation, used for empathy, may also explain how we value future rewards. This psychological account of temporal discounting could impact research on simulation and special populations.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Understanding others' thoughts and feelings often involves mental simulation, or 'putting oneself in their shoes'.
- Simulation is also hypothesized to aid in predicting future emotional states and valuing future rewards.
- Temporal discounting describes the decrease in subjective value of delayed rewards as the delay increases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a theoretical framework linking simulation mechanisms in empathy to intertemporal choices.
- To develop a testable psychological account of temporal discounting based on simulation.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical framework development.
- Conceptual analysis linking empathy simulation to intertemporal decision-making.
Main Results:
- A framework is proposed where simulation underlies both empathy and temporal discounting.
- This framework suggests a unified role for simulation in social cognition and decision-making.
Conclusions:
- Simulation mechanisms may play a dual role in understanding others and in making intertemporal choices.
- Experimental validation of this framework could refine our understanding of simulation and its deficits in certain populations.
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