The HED Task Catalog is under development. IDs are not stable until formal release. Comments are welcome at github.com/hed-standard/hed-task/issues.

Delay Discounting Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_delay_discounting

Family: Reward, risk and value-based choice tasks

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

An experiment is an instance of this task when its procedure matches, it manipulates at least one of the listed variables, and it records at least one of the listed measures.

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

Named versions that change what the participant experiences or does. The identifier of a variation is hedvar_<task>__<variation>.

Variation

Description

Justification

Adjusting-Amount Method

hedvar_delay_discounting__adjusting_amount_method

Titration procedure finding indifference points across delays.

Adjusts smaller-sooner amount until indifferent; adaptive titration procedure

Adjusting-Delay Method

hedvar_delay_discounting__adjusting_delay_method

Titrating delay rather than amount.

Adjusts delay until indifferent; different dimension titrated

5-Trial Adjusting Delay

hedvar_delay_discounting__5_trial_adjusting_delay

Ultra-rapid assessment (~1 minute).

Rapid 5-trial protocol; distinct abbreviated titration method

Fixed-Choice Discrete Trials

hedvar_delay_discounting__fixed_choice_discrete_trials

Predetermined choice pairs without titration.

Fixed set of choices without adaptation; different decision structure

Magnitude Manipulation

hedvar_delay_discounting__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

hedvar_delay_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

hedvar_delay_discounting__experiential_discounting

Real delays experienced during the session.

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

Gain vs. Loss Framing

hedvar_delay_discounting__gain_vs_loss_framing

Separate discounting for delayed gains vs. delayed losses.

Loss domain discounting; different valence changes decision context

Probabilistic Discounting

hedvar_delay_discounting__probabilistic_discounting

Combined delay and probability uncertainty.

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

Cross-Commodity Discounting

hedvar_delay_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 is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • 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. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Kable, J. W., & Glimcher, P. W. (2007). The neural correlates of subjective value during intertemporal choice. Nature Neuroscience, 10(12), 1625-1633. (DOI, PubMed)

Further references

  • 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. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Kable, J. W. (2014). Valuation, intertemporal choice, and self-control. In Neuroeconomics (2nd ed., pp. 173–192). Academic Press. (DOI)

  • Peters, J., & Büchel, C. (2011). The neural mechanisms of inter-temporal decision-making: Understanding variability. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(5), 227–239. (DOI, PubMed)