Delay Discounting Task

HED Task ID: hedtsk_delay_discounting

Also known as: Temporal Discounting, Delay of Gratification

Repeated choices between smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards at varying delays; indifference points estimate a temporal discount function.

Description

Participants make repeated choices between a smaller immediate reward and a larger delayed reward (e.g., “$10 now or $25 in 1 week”). The immediate amount or delay is systematically varied to estimate indifference points, yielding a discount rate reflecting how steeply the subjective value of rewards declines with delay. Steeper discounting reflects greater impulsivity. fMRI reveals differential activation of ventromedial PFC and nucleus accumbens (immediate preference) versus dorsolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex (delayed preference), supporting dual-system valuation models.

Inclusion test

Procedure

Participants choose between a smaller immediate reward and a larger delayed reward across many trials with varying amounts and delays.

Manipulation

Reward magnitude; delay duration; ascending vs. descending adjustment procedures.

Measurement

Indifference point at each delay; discount rate k (hyperbolic model); area under the discount curve (AUC).

Variations

Variation

Description

Justification

Adjusting-Amount Method

Titration procedure finding indifference points across delays.

Adjusts smaller-sooner amount until indifferent; adaptive titration procedure

Adjusting-Delay Method

Titrating delay rather than amount.

Adjusts delay until indifferent; different dimension titrated

5-Trial Adjusting Delay

Ultra-rapid assessment (~1 minute).

Rapid 5-trial protocol; distinct abbreviated titration method

Fixed-Choice Discrete Trials

Predetermined choice pairs without titration.

Fixed set of choices without adaptation; different decision structure

Magnitude Manipulation

Separate curves for small ($10), medium ($100), and large ($1000) rewards.

Systematically varies reward magnitude; tests magnitude effect on discounting

Real vs. Hypothetical Rewards

Actual waiting and payment vs. hypothetical scenarios.

Real monetary payoff vs. hypothetical; changes incentive structure and motivation

Experiential Discounting Task

Real delays experienced during the session.

Delays experienced in real time; different temporal structure from verbal/hypothetical

Gain vs. Loss Framing

Separate discounting for delayed gains vs. delayed losses.

Loss domain discounting; different valence changes decision context

Probabilistic Discounting

Combined delay and probability uncertainty.

Reward probability instead of delay; tests probability rather than temporal discounting

Cross-Commodity Discounting

Delays for money, food, drugs, social rewards.

Non-monetary rewards (food, drugs); different commodity changes motivational basis

Cognitive processes

This task engages the following cognitive processes:

Key references

  • {‘authors’: ‘McClure, S. M., Laibson, D. I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J. D.’, ‘year’: 2004, ‘title’: ‘Separate Neural Systems Value Immediate and Delayed Monetary Rewards’, ‘venue’: ‘Science’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Science’, ‘volume’: ‘306’, ‘issue’: ‘5695’, ‘pages’: ‘503-507’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1126/science.1100907’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘McClure, S. M., Laibson, D. I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2004). Separate neural systems value immediate and delayed monetary rewards. Science, 306(5695), 503-507.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1100907’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Kable, J. W., & Glimcher, P. W.’, ‘year’: 2007, ‘title’: ‘The neural correlates of subjective value during intertemporal choice’, ‘venue’: ‘Nature Neuroscience’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Nature Neuroscience’, ‘volume’: ‘10’, ‘issue’: ‘12’, ‘pages’: ‘1625-1633’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1038/nn2007’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Kable, J. W., & Glimcher, P. W. (2007). The neural correlates of subjective value during intertemporal choice. Nature Neuroscience, 10(12), 1625-1633.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1038/nn2007’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

Recent references

  • {‘authors’: ‘Bickel, W. K., Koffarnus, M. N., Moody, L., & Wilson, A. G.’, ‘year’: 2014, ‘title’: ‘The behavioral- and neuro-economic process of temporal discounting: A candidate behavioral marker of addiction’, ‘venue’: ‘Neuropharmacology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Neuropharmacology’, ‘volume’: ‘76’, ‘issue’: None, ‘pages’: ‘518-527’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.06.013’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Bickel, W. K., Koffarnus, M. N., Moody, L., & Wilson, A. G. (2014). The behavioral- and neuro-economic process of temporal discounting: A candidate behavioral marker of addiction. Neuropharmacology, 76, 518–527.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.06.013’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Kable, J. W.’, ‘year’: 2014, ‘title’: ‘Valuation, Intertemporal Choice, and Self-Control’, ‘venue’: ‘Neuroeconomics’, ‘venue_type’: ‘book_chapter’, ‘journal’: None, ‘volume’: None, ‘issue’: None, ‘pages’: ‘173-192’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/b978-0-12-416008-8.00010-3’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Kable, J. W. (2014). Valuation, intertemporal choice, and self-control. In Neuroeconomics (2nd ed., pp. 173–192). Academic Press.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-416008-8.00010-3’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}

  • {‘authors’: ‘Peters, J., & Büchel, C.’, ‘year’: 2011, ‘title’: ‘The neural mechanisms of inter-temporal decision-making: understanding variability’, ‘venue’: ‘Trends in Cognitive Sciences’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Trends in Cognitive Sciences’, ‘volume’: ‘15’, ‘issue’: ‘5’, ‘pages’: ‘227-239’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/j.tics.2011.03.002’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Peters, J., & Büchel, C. (2011). The neural mechanisms of inter-temporal decision-making: Understanding variability. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(5), 227–239.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.03.002’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}