Delay Discounting - A Trans Disease

This is Channel 4 News KBEQ reporting the latest health scare. First it was cigarettes, then it was lack of exercise, now it's delay discounting In general decision makers judge rewards to be less valuable when obtained later in time. We adjust the subjective value of later rewards to account for the delay., the latest trans-disease scientists warn is threatening our society. This headline might sound dramatic but I promise it's coming to a TV station near you. Public awareness of cognitive health is slowly catching up with well-known awareness of physical health. One of the biggest warning signs of poor cognitive control is excessive delay discounting, the discounting of rewards that are delayed in receipt. Delay discounting is intimately related with delaying gratification, self-control, and the type of rational long-run decision making necessary for positive life outcomes. Because delay discounting is related with such a broad range of core concepts, researcher Mikhail Koffarnus et. al. argue it is a trans-disease.[1]

What is a Trans-Disease?

The term trans-disease describes processes that cause or worsen a range of disorders.[2] For instance, lack of exercise is thought to cause or worsen many seemingly unrelated disorders. This wide net of effects is what makes trans-disease processes so deliberating. Conversely, they are also empowering because overcoming a trans-disease process can provide an equally dramatic range of benefits. That is why public health campaigns to quit smoking and take up exercise are so successful. The enormous public health benefits are readily apparent and relatable to day-to-day life. These campaigns focus on the metaphorical low hanging fruit of healthy life living. An apple a day, regular exercise, and refrain from smoking, and generally your health will be alright.

The practical benefits of improving delay discounting are even more readily apparent and dramatic. In fact, improving delay discounting is at the core of our ability to engage in healthy behavior such as exercising and abstaining from smoking.[3] What other healthy behavioral choices is delay discounting co-morbid with? Well...there's really too many to list in paragraph format, so enjoy the following table. But when will these cognitive control headlines start hitting the stands? We can't be too certain. But one thing's for sure; since delay discounting and other failures in executive control are at the root at our success or failure in exercise and cigarette abstinence alike, our Facebook feeds will soon be filled with devotees encouraging us to improve our core cognitive functioning.

  1. Koffarnus, Mikhail N., et al. "Changing delay discounting in the light of the competing neurobehavioral decision systems theory: a review." Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior 99.1 (2013): 32-57, 35. ↑

  2. Id. ↑

  3. Id. ↑

Terms

  1. Delay Discounting - In general decision makers judge rewards to be less valuable when obtained later in time. We adjust the subjective value of later rewards to account for the delay.
  2. intertemporal decision making A class of decisions that involves a comparison of options with rewards at different points such as when choosing between a smaller immediately available reward and a larger reward available only after some delay. - A class of decisions that involves a comparison of options with rewards at different points such as when choosing between a smaller immediately available reward and a larger reward available only after some delay.