Altered Intertemporal Decision-Making in Individuals with High Autistic Traits

Intertemporal decision-making integrates reward valuation, executive control, and temporal processing. Although individuals with high autistic traits (HAT) often display altered decision-making, the cognitive characteristics associated with altered intertemporal choice remain unclear.

Eighty-one participants completed an intertemporal choice task assessing preferences for sooner-smaller versus later-larger rewards. Delay discounting rates and delayed choice proportions were adopted as behavioral indicators of temporal reward preference. Measures of inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility were also administered.

Compared with the LAT group, individuals with HAT showed a stronger preference for sooner-smaller rewards across multiple reward difference conditions and exhibited higher delay discounting rates. No significant group differences were observed in subjective reward attractiveness ratings, suggesting that altered intertemporal choices were unlikely to be explained by differences in reward valuation. Regarding executive function, the HAT group showed poorer performance on backward digit span and Stroop Word performance, whereas no significant group difference was observed in Stroop interference performance. Although Stroop interference was significantly associated with delay discounting in the HAT group, this association was not significantly different from that observed in the LAT group. Trial-level GLMM analyses further indicated that individuals with HAT showed a reduced probability of selecting LL rewards after accounting for reward magnitude and delay duration, without altered sensitivity to these task-related factors.

Individuals with HAT exhibit altered intertemporal decision-making characterized by a stronger preference for immediate rewards and steeper delay discounting. The association between conflict resolution efficiency as a subdimension of inhibitory control and this type of decision-making pattern refines our understanding of the cognitive factors related to impulsive choices in individuals with subclinical autistic traits. However, the present findings do not establish inhibitory control or working memory as specific mechanisms underlying altered intertemporal decision-making. Further research incorporating multidimensional cognitive assessments and direct measures of underlying mechanisms is needed.