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Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task
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The Effects of Obligatory and Preferential Frames on Delay Discounting
Laura Barcelos Nomicos1, Kenneth W Jacobs1, Matthew L Locey1
1Department of Psychology/296, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557 USA.
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior
|July 24, 2020
Summary
The words "should" and "like" influence decision-making. Framing choices with "should" (obligatory) led to less delay discounting than "like" (preferential), especially when "like" came second.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Decision Science
Background:
- Human decision-making is influenced by verbal stimuli.
- The words 'should' and 'like' represent distinct decision-framing concepts: obligation versus preference.
- Understanding these frames is crucial for predicting choice behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential effects of 'should' and 'like' framing on monetary delay discounting.
- To determine if these verbal frames constitute separate classes of decision stimuli.
- To explore the impact of condition order on observed effects.
Main Methods:
- A repeated-measures experimental design with 83 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk.
- Participants completed a monetary delay-discounting task under two conditions: 'should' and 'like'.
- Choice framing questions ('Which should you choose?' vs. 'Which would you like to choose?') were presented.
Main Results:
- Significantly lower delay discounting was observed in the 'should' condition compared to the 'like' condition.
- The framing effect was less consistent when participants were first exposed to the 'should' condition.
- 'Should' and 'like' function as distinct verbal stimuli, termed obligatory and preferential frames.
Conclusions:
- 'Should' (obligatory frame) and 'like' (preferential frame) differentially impact delay discounting.
- The order of exposure to these frames can modulate their effect.
- Obligatory and preferential frames offer insights into predicting and controlling social decision-making.
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