scholarly journals A General Theory of Time Discounting: The Reference-Time Theory of Intertemporal Choice

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali al-Nowaihi ◽  
Sanjit Dhami
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Merlevede ◽  
Benjamin Johnson ◽  
Jens Grossklags ◽  
Tom Holvoet

Abstract Strategic game models of defense against stealthy, targeted attacks that cannot be prevented but only mitigated are the subject of a significant body of recent research, often in the context of advanced persistent threats (APTs). In these game models, the timing of attack and defense moves plays a central role. A common assumption, in this literature, is that players are indifferent between costs and gains now and those in the distant future, which conflicts with the widely accepted treatment of intertemporal choice across economic contexts. This article investigates the significance of this assumption by studying changes in optimal player behavior when introducing time discounting. Specifically, we adapt a popular model in the games of timing literature, the FlipIt model, by allowing for exponential discounting of gains and costs over time. We investigate changes of best responses and the location of Nash equilibria through analysis of two well-known classes of player strategies: those where the time between players’ moves is constant, and a second class where the time between players’ moves is stochastic and exponentially distributed. By introducing time discounting in the framework of games of timing, we increase its level of realism as well as applicability to organizational security management, which is in dire need of sound theoretic work to respond to sophisticated, stealthy attack vectors.


Author(s):  
Bayu Kharisma

The purpose of this study is to critically highlight normative and descriptive limitations regarding the validity of discounted utility (DU) model assumptions and discuss empirical research on intertemporal choices that present the views of alternative theoretical models that emphasize psychological elements in taking inter-time choice decisions that had previously been ineffective during the existence of the discounted utility (DU) model. The method used in this study is intended to measure time discounting and discount rates. The method of measuring time discounting uses a variety of literature studies that discuss field studies and experimental studies. The results of the study show that in addition to discussing from an economic perspective, discounted utility (DU) and intertemporal choices need to be discussed from deeper psychological considerations, especially regarding neuroeconomics. That is because, that the problem of intertemporal choice produced by multiple systems that contradicts priorities is still a debate in neuroeconomics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shulin Tang ◽  
Jie Guo ◽  
Bing Li ◽  
Zhikai Song

Social factors can affect the processing of intertemporal choice, but the influence of social distance on the rewarding process of intertemporal choice is unclear. Therefore, by designing a novel cognitive resource competition paradigm for undifferentiated intertemporal choice, this article aims to explore the influence of social distance on intertemporal choice reward processing at the electrophysiological level. It was found that compared with the stranger condition, P3a is greater in the friend condition, which means social distance is evaluated in the early stage. In addition, different brain regions in the early stages are taking charge of processing the soon-but-small (SS) and later-but-lager (LL) reward in intertemporal choice. There is an interaction effect between social distance (friend vs. stranger) and intertemporal choice (SS reward vs. LL reward) on P3b. Under friend conditions, the P3b induced by LL reward is more positive than SS reward. Under the condition of choosing the LL reward, the P3b induced by friend is more positive than stranger. This result shows that in the latter stage of reward processing, the evaluation process of time discounting is less sensitive in LL reward for friend caused by lack of cognitive resources which is occupied when dealing with social distance in advance, and thus the degree of time discount was reduced. These findings demonstrate that P3b is the key index of time discounting and immediate and delayed rewards are valued in different brain regions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Crimston ◽  
Matthew J. Hornsey

AbstractAs a general theory of extreme self-sacrifice, Whitehouse's article misses one relevant dimension: people's willingness to fight and die in support of entities not bound by biological markers or ancestral kinship (allyship). We discuss research on moral expansiveness, which highlights individuals’ capacity to self-sacrifice for targets that lie outside traditional in-group markers, including racial out-groups, animals, and the natural environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Białek ◽  
Przemysław Sawicki

Abstract. In this work, we investigated individual differences in cognitive reflection effects on delay discounting – a preference for smaller sooner over larger later payoff. People are claimed to prefer more these alternatives they considered first – so-called reference point – over the alternatives they considered later. Cognitive reflection affects the way individuals process information, with less reflective individuals relying predominantly on the first information they consider, thus, being more susceptible to reference points as compared to more reflective individuals. In Experiment 1, we confirmed that individuals who scored high on the Cognitive Reflection Test discount less strongly than less reflective individuals, but we also show that such individuals are less susceptible to imposed reference points. Experiment 2 replicated these findings additionally providing evidence that cognitive reflection predicts discounting strength and (in)dependency to reference points over and above individual difference in numeracy.


1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1225-1225
Author(s):  
No authorship indicated

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