A bird in the hand isn’t good for long: Action dynamics reveal short-term choice impulses in intertemporal choices

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Folk wisdom tells us that additional time to make a decision helps us to refrain from the first impulse to take the bird in the hand. However, the question why the time to decide plays an important role is still unanswered. Here we distinguish two explanations, one based on a bias in value accumulation that has to be overcome with time, the other based on cognitive control processes that need time to set in. In an intertemporal decision task, we use mouse tracking to study participants’ responses to options’ values and delays which were presented sequentially. We find that the information about options’ delays does indeed lead to an immediate bias that is controlled afterwards, matching the prediction of control processes needed to counter initial impulses. Hence, by using a dynamic measure, we provide insight into the processes underlying short-term oriented choices in intertemporal decision making.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)23-31
Number of pages9
JournalExperimental Psychology
Volume65
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 29415644
ORCID /0000-0002-4408-6016/work/161406830

Keywords

Keywords

  • Decision making, Delay discounting, Dynamics, Intertemporal choice, Mouse tracking, Process