Association for Behavior Analysis International

Delay discounting models describe the tendency of different organisms to choose immediate or less delayed rewards over more delayed rewards. Choices related to substance and behavioral addictions, risky health choices, cue reactivity, and pattern-setting are some examples of topics related to significant impact on the daily lives of humans and their welfare. The first presentation will discuss the effect of an olfactory cue on the delay discounting rates in intermittent and daily smokers. Repeated measures data suggested no effect on daily smokers and variability in intermittent smokers in the areas under the curve. The second presentation will discuss the relationship between the delay discounting model and Rachlin's negative asymptotes model evaluating subjective values for smokers intending to quit and smokers who do not. The third presentation discusses hypersexuality and sex addiction with measures of impulsiveness using a delay discounting task, risk-taking patterns, and psychological distress. The authors' results found a correlation between risk-taking and delay discounting measures and sex addiction with psychological distress. The fourth presentation will discuss the results of generalized reward discounting examined in three temporal discounting tasks, by physical effort and cognitive effort, using the quantity adjustment procedure with five comparable parameters through a descriptive correlational study.

Delay discounting is a well-known phenomenon that generally describes the tendency to reduce an outcome's value because of delay. This relationship works in that way when the outcome is positive (a gain). However, when the outcome is negative (a loss) it is supposed to increase (reduce the loss) because of delay. A different model of intertemporal choice might make predictions of outcomes that start at a positive value and discount until negative. In this study, we compared smokers who did not want to quit and smokers who wanted to quit with the subjective value assigned to delayed cigarettes on a scale that ranged from -100 (A very unpleasant situation) to +100 (A delightful situation), with zero being indifference. The procedure is similar to a matching procedure (Read & Roelofsma, 2003) for temporal discounting but instead of money, the procedure used the abovementioned scale. Rachlin's model accounting for negative asymptotes (2016) was used to estimate the function of the asymptotes for each group of smokers. We found negative asymptotes for smokers who wanted to quit, while the asymptotes for smokers who wanted to keep smoking generally were = 0. These results show preliminary evidence of different asymptotical valuations for delayed rewards. We suggest some theoretical explanations of how behavioral processes beyond delay discounting would make sense of the results and the model used.

Excessive sexual behavior is a significant health concern, often linked to impulsivity and risky choices. Research has demonstrated positive correlations between sex addiction and various measures of impulsivity, highlighting the interplay between excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms within the context of hypersexuality. To explore this further, we assessed 326 adults using the Sex Addiction Screening Test-Revised (SAST-R), along with measures of impulsivity (Delay Discounting Task, DD), risk-taking (Iowa Gambling Task, IGT), and psychological distress (Symptom Checklist-90, SCL-90). SAST-R scores were significantly correlated with psychological distress (r = .34, p < .01), and a correlation was also found between delay discounting and IGT performance (r = .37, p < .001). Algorithmic analysis identified psychological distress and impulsivity as key predictors of elevated hypersexuality scores. Our results confirm that multiple factors, including psychological distress, and high impulsivity, contribute to sex addiction. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive assessments when evaluating individuals with hypersexual behaviors and sex addiction.

Discounting refers to the change in the subjective value of a reward with increases in some delivery conditions. The most commonly studied condition is delay discounting, followed by physical effort discounting and, to a lesser extent, cognitive effort discounting. The comparison of discounting rates has been made with parameters that may not be comparable, so generalized reward discounting was examined in three temporal discounting tasks, by physical effort and cognitive effort, using the quantity adjustment procedure with five comparable parameters through a descriptive correlational study with 50 participants of 11-year-old. The correlational pattern was examined using an exploratory factor analysis. A three-factor structure (with separate factors for delay, physical effort, and cognitive effort) described the relationships among the indifference points with all the participants. The results seem to indicate that the different forms of discounting affect the magnitude of the reinforcer to different extents and seem to belong to the same functional class.