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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2025

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task

Published on: January 9, 2016

Temporal expectations in delay of gratification.

Jeremy M Haynes¹, Mariah E Willis-Moore¹, D Perez¹

¹Department of Psychology, Utah State University.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|December 8, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Rats exposed to reward delays learned to prefer delayed gratification, supporting the idea that temporal expectations influence choices. This suggests temporal learning impacts decision-making in delay of gratification tasks.

Keywords:

delay of gratification intertemporal choice linear mixed modeling preference reversals rat

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Area of Science:

Behavioral neuroscience
Animal cognition

Background:

Temporal expectations can influence decision-making, particularly regarding delayed rewards.
Rachlin's hypothesis suggests preference for larger-later rewards shifts to smaller-immediate rewards based on expected timing.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how temporal expectations affect preference reversals in a delay of gratification task for rats.
To test Rachlin's hypothesis regarding the influence of expected reward timing on choice behavior.

Main Methods:

Two groups of rats were pre-exposed to delays associated with larger-later reinforcers.
One group experienced delays based on choices in an intertemporal choice task; the other experienced yoked delays.
A control group received no delay pre-exposure.

Main Results:

Rats pre-exposed to delays made fewer "defection" responses (choosing immediate rewards) compared to the control group.
Results indicate that experiencing delays during pre-exposure influences subsequent choices in delay of gratification tasks.

Conclusions:

Temporal learning, acquired through delay pre-exposure, appears to influence preference reversals in delay of gratification tasks.
Findings support Rachlin's hypothesis and suggest future research into temporal learning and decision-making mechanisms.