Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Delay of Gratification and Delay Discounting: A Unifying Feedback Model of Delay-Related Impulsive Behavior

  • Article
  • Published:
The Psychological Record Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Delay of Gratification (DG) and Delay Discounting (DD) represent two indices of impulsive behavior often treated as though they represent equivalent or the same underlying processes. However, there are key differences between DG and DD procedures, and between certain research findings with each procedure, that suggest they are not equivalent. In the current article, evidence is presented to support the argument that DG and DD measure discrete, yet related, processes involved in delay-related impulsive behavior. Also presented is a theoretical “feedback model” for the relation between DG and DD. In the model, it is proposed that the processes measured by DG are less cognitive and less learning-mediated than those measured by DD. However, as proposed, ability to sustain choices for delayed rewards (DG) is still represented in the choice processes measured by DD through an individual’s learning history with DG types of situations; that is, the less a person is able to sustain choices for delayed rewards the more likely he or she will be to choose immediate rewards when given choices between larger delayed and smaller but more immediate options. The proposed model is consonant with observed consistencies and differences between DG and DD measures. From the proposed model, new research questions arise that would be lost in a continued conceptualization of DG and DD as equivalent measures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ALLEN, T., MOELLER, G., RHOADES, H., & CHEREK, D. (1998). Impulsivity and a history of drug dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 50, 137–145.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ALLPORT, G. W. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & WINSTON.

    Google Scholar 

  • AYDUK, O., MENDOZA-DENTON, R., MISCHEL, W., DOWNEY, G., PEAKE, P., & RODRIGUEZ, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 776–792.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • BICKEL, W., ODUM, A., & MADDEN, G. (1999). Impulsivity and cigarette smoking: Delay discounting in current, never, and ex-smokers. Psychopharmacology, 146, 447–454.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CARDINAL, R. N., PENNICOTT, D. R., SUGATHAPALA, C. L., ROBBINS, T. W., & EVERITT, B. J. (2001). Impulsive choice induced in rats by lesions of the nucleus accumbens core. Science, 292, 2499–2501.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CHAPMAN, M. (1988). Constructive evolution: Origins and development of Piaget’s thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • COFFEY, S. F., GUDLESKI, G. D., SALADIN, M. E., & BRADY, K. T. (2003). Impulsivity and rapid discounting of delayed hypothetical rewards in cocaine-dependent individuals. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11, 18–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CREAN, J. P., DE WIT, H., & RICHARDS, J. B. (2000). Reward discounting as a measure of impulsive behavior in a psychiatric outpatient population. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 8, 155–162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • EVENDEN, J. L., & RYAN, C. N. (1996). The pharmacology of impulsive behavior in rats: The effects of drugs on response choice with varying delays of reinforcement. Psychopharmacology, 128, 161–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • GRANT, H., & DWECK, C. S. (1999). A goal analysis of personality and personality coherence. In D. Cervone & Y Shoda (Eds.), The coherence of personality: Social-cognitive basis of consistency, variability, and organization (pp. 345–371). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • GREEN, L., FRY, A., & MYERSON, J. (1994). Discounting of delayed rewards: A life-span comparison. Psychological Science, 5, 33–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HINSON, J. M., JAMESON, T. L., & WHITNEY, P. (2003). Impulsive decision making and working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 29, 298–306

    Google Scholar 

  • JOHNSON, M. W., & BICKEL, W. (2002). Within-subject comparison of real and hypothetical money rewards in delay discounting. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 77, 129–146.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • LUTZ, D. J., & STERNBERG, R. J. (1999). Cognitive development. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental psychology: An advanced textbook (pp. 275–311). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • MADDEN, G., BICKEL, W., & JACOBS, E. A. (1999). Discounting of delayed rewards in opioid-dependent outpatients: Exponential and hyperbolic discounting functions? Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 7, 284–293.

  • MADDEN, G., PETRY, N., BADGER, G., & BICKEL, W. (1997). Impulsive and self-control choices in opioid-dependent patients and non-drug-using control participants: Drug and monetary rewards. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 5, 256–262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MAZUR, J. E. (1987). An adjusting procedure for studying delayed reinforcement. In M. L. Commons, J. E. Mazur, J. A. Nevin, & H. Rachiin (Eds.), Quantitative analysis of behavior: Vol 5. The effects of delay and intervening events on reinforcement value (pp. 55–73). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

    Google Scholar 

  • METCALFE, J., & MISCHEL, W. (1999). A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of willpower. Psychological Review, 106, 3–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, H. N., & MISCHEL, W. (1983). The development of children’s knowledge of self-control strategies. Child Development, 54, 603–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W. (1966). Theory and research on antecedents of self-imposed delay of reward. In B. A. Maher (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research. (Vol. 3). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W. (1990). Personality dispositions revisited and revisited: A view after three decades. In L. A. Previn (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 111–134). New York, NY: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., & BAKER, N. (1975). Cognitive appraisals and transformations in delay behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 254–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W, CANTOR, N., & FELDMAN, S. (1996). Principals of self-regulation: The nature of willpower and self-control. In E. T. Higgins & A. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 329–360). New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., & EBBESEN, E. (1970). Attention in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 329–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., EBBESEN, E., & ZEISS, A. R. (1972). Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 204–218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., & METZNER, R. (1962). Preference for delayed reward as a function of age, intelligence, and length of delay interval. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 64, 425–431.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., & MOORE, B. (1973). Effects of attention to symbolically presented rewards on self control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 172–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., SHODA, Y., & PEAKE, P. (1988). The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 687–696.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MISCHEL, W., SHODA, Y., & RODRIGUEZ, M. (1989, May 26). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244, 933–938.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MITCHELL, S. (1999). Measures of impulsivity in cigarette smokers and non-smokers. Psychopharmacology, 146, 455–464.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MOBINI, S., CHIANG, T., HO, M., BRADSHAW, C. M., & SZABADI, E. (2000). Effect of central 5-hydoxytryptamine depletion on inter-temporal choice: A qualitative analysis. Psychopharmacology, 149, 313–318.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ODUM, A. L., & RAINAUD, C. P. (2003). Discounting of delayed hypothetical money, alcohol, and food. Behavioural Processes, 64, 305–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ORTNER, C. N. M., MACDONALD, T. K., & OLMSTEAD, M. O. (2003). Alcoholism intoxication reduces impulsivity in the delay-discounting paradigm. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 38, 151–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OSTASZEWSKI, P., & KARZEL, K. (2002). Discounting of delayed and probabilistic losses of different amounts. European Psychologist, 7, 295-301.

  • PEAKE, P., HEBL, M., & MISCHEL, W. (2002). Strategic attention deployment for delay of gratification in working and waiting situations. Developmental Psychology, 38, 313–326.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • PEARS, R., & BRYANT, P. (1990). Transitive inferences by young children about spatial position. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 497–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PETRY, N., & CASARELLA, T. (1999). Excessive discounting of delayed rewards in substance abusers with gambling problems. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 56, 25–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • PIAGET, J., & INHELDER, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • RACHLIN, H. (2000). The science of self-control. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., DE WIT, H., & RICHARDS, J. B. (2002). Delay of gratification and delay discounting in rats. Behavioural Processes, 59, 157–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., & KARRAKER, K. (2003). A Big Five model of disposition and situation interaction: why a “helpful” person may not always behave helpfully. New Ideas in Psychology, 21, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., KARRAKER, K., HORN, K., & RICHARDS, J. B. (2003). Delay and probability discounting as related to different stages of adolescent smoking and non-smoking. Behavioural Processes, 64, 333–344.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., RICHARDS, J. B., HORN, K., & KARRAKER, K. (2004). Delay discounting and probability discounting as related to cigarette smoking status in adults. Behavioural Processes, 65, 35–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., & SCHIFFBAUER, R. (2004). Measuring state changes in human delay discounting: An experiential discounting task. Behavioural Processes, 67, 343–356.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., SCHIFFBAUER, R., RICHARDS, J. B., & KARRAKER, K. (2003, May). Development of a task measure of hyperbolic discounting in children: The experiential discounting task-child (Edt-C). Poster presented at the 29th annual Association for Behavior Analysis Convention, San Francisco, Ca.

    Google Scholar 

  • REYNOLDS, B., SCHIFFBAUER, R., SWENSON, L., & KARRAKER, K. (2001, March). Delay discounting: Testing an adjusting-amount procedure with children. Poster presented at the 47th annual Southeastern Psychological Association Convention, Atlanta, Ga.

    Google Scholar 

  • RICHARDS, J. B., CHOCK, M. A., & DE WIT, H. (1998). Depletion of serotonin causes impairments in sustained inhibition in rats. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 24(1): 11–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • RICHARDS, J. B., ZHANG, L., MITCHELL, S., & DEWIT, H. (1999). Delay and probibility discounting in a model of impulsive behavior: Effect of alcohol. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 71, 121–143.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • RODRIGUEZ, M. L., MISCHEL, W., & SHODA, Y. (1989). Cognitive person variable in delay of gratification of older children at risk. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 358–367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ROGOFF, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • SCARR, S. (1997). The development of individual differences in intelligence and personality. In H. Reese & M. Franzen (Eds.), Biological and neuropsychological mechanisms: Life-span developmental psychology (pp. 1–22). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • SCHWEITZER, J., & SULZER-AZAROFF, B. (1995). Self-control in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Effects of added stimulation and time. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 36, 671–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SETHI, A., MISCHEL, W., ABER, L., SHODA, Y., & RODRIGUEZ, M. (2000). The role of strategic attention development in development of self-regulation: Predicting preschoolers’ delay of gratification from mother-toddler interactions. Developmental Psychology, 36, 767–777.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • SHODA, Y., MISCHEL, W., & PEAKE, P. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Indentifying diagnostic conditions. Developmental Psychology, 26, 978–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SKINNER, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: D. Appleton-Century.

    Google Scholar 

  • SMITH, L. (1982). Class inclusion and conclusions about Piaget’s theory. British Journal of Psychology, 73, 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VOGAL-SPROTT, M., EASDON, G., FILLMORE, M., FINN, R., & JUSTUS, A. (2001). Alcohol and behavioral control: Cognitive and neural mechanisms. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 25, 117–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VUCHINICH, R., & SIMPSON, C. (1998). Hyperbolic temporal discounting in social drinkers and problem drinkers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacoloty, 6, 292–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WADE, T. R., DE WIT, H., & RICHARDS, J. B. (2000). Effects of dopaminergic drugs on delayed reward as a measure of impulsive behavior in rats. Psychopharmacology, 150, 90–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Chicago, USA

    Brady Reynolds Ph.D.

  2. West Virginia University, USA

    Ryan Schiffbauer

Authors
  1. Brady Reynolds Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ryan Schiffbauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brady Reynolds Ph.D..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Reynolds, B., Schiffbauer, R. Delay of Gratification and Delay Discounting: A Unifying Feedback Model of Delay-Related Impulsive Behavior. Psychol Rec 55, 439–460 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395520

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395520

Search

Navigation