09:00 - 10:30
Parallel sessions 7
09:00 - 10:30
Submission 127
The Contribution of Time Perception to the Date/Delay-Effect in Temporal Discounting
MixedTopicTalk-01
Presented by: Arndt Bröder
Arndt BröderSelina Krauß
University of Mannheim, Germany
The term temporal discounting describes people's often-observed preference for smaller, but sooner (SS) rewards over larger, but later (LL) rewards. This discounting effect is reduced when the time period to wait for the LL is expressed as an end date (e.g. April 3rd) rather than a delay (e.g. 80 days). Several explanations of this Date/Delay Effect have been put forward, one of which is the differential time estimation hypothesis claiming that the duration expressed as an end date is perceived as shorter. The few empirical demonstrations in favor of this view used rating scales for subjective duration judgments that have severe methodological shortcomings. To achieve a more comprehensive approach, an objective psychophysical discrimination task was used in the current study. In two online experiments (N = 140 and N = 80), participants made speeded decisions comparing which of two periods (one expressed as a date, one expressed as a delay in days) was shorter (or longer). The psychometric functions not only showed a clear bias to view the dates as shorter than the delays, but it could be quantified by estimating the point of subjective equality (PSE) which conformed to a delay-to-date ratio of about 83% and 93% in Studies 1 and 2, respectively. The robustness of the finding and potential correlates are discussed.