Delay Discounting of Self-Determined and Experimenter-Determined Commodities

Research suggests that individuals prefer self-determined reinforcers over experimenter-determined ones. The present study had 518 college students complete a delay-discounting task in which the commodity was cigarettes, a grocery store gift card, casino tokens, cash, or the choice of the four. The least amount of delay discounting was observed for the group that was given a choice, although the difference was not significantly different from two of the individual commodities (casino tokens & cash). The results support the conclusion that participants place a high value on having choice. These results have practical implications for teachers, researchers, and/or businesses who want to provide incentives for their students, participants, or customers, respectively. The results also highlight the usefulness of measuring delay discounting.