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Cited by 1,165Decision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesFinancial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis

Discounting of Delayed Rewards: A Life-Span Comparison

Green, Leonard, Fry, Astrid F, Myerson, Joel·1994·Psychological Science
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00610.x
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Abstract

In this study, children, young adults, and older adults chose between immediate and delayed hypothetical monetary rewards The amount of the delayed reward was held constant while its delay was varied All three age groups showed delay discounting, that is, the amount of an immediate reward judged to be of equal value to the delayed reward decreased as a function of delay The rate of discounting was highest for children and lowest for older adults, predicting a life-span developmental trend toward increased self-control Discounting of delayed rewards by all three age groups was well described by a single function with age-sensitive parameters (all R 2 s > 94) Thus, even though there are quantitative age differences in delay discounting, the existence of an age-invariant form of discount function suggests that the process of choosing between rewards of different amounts and delays is qualitatively similar across the life span

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00610.x

Cites

19 of 19 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The extent to which delayed rewards are discounted decreases over the lifespan.

    “While the extent to which delayed rewards are discounted decreases over the lifespan (Green, Fry, & Myerson, 1994)”

    From Changing Delay Discounting and Impulsive Choice: Implications for Addictions, Prevention, and Human Health (2019) · cites this paper as Green, Fry, & Myerson, 1994

  • Over time, nicotine may increase delay discounting, especially given that younger people tend to exhibit higher delay discounting than older people.

    “which might suggest that, over time, nicotine increases delay discounting,188 especially given that this result is opposite of what might be expected based on the fact that younger people tend to exhibit higher delay discounting than older people.189”

    From Early life adversity and health-risk behaviors: Proposed psychological and neural mechanisms (2018) · cites this paper as [189]

  • Delay discounting generally decreases between young childhood and adulthood, meaning children tend to choose a smaller immediate reward over a larger delayed reward.

    “Delay discounting generally decreases between young childhood and adulthood, meaning children tend to choose a smaller immediate reward over a larger delayed reward (Christakou et al., 2011; de Water et al., 2014; Green et al., 1994; Olson et al., 2007; Scheres et al., 2006; Steinberg et al., 2009).”

    From Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex? (2017) · cites this paper as Green et al., 1994

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Related

Authors
Green, L., Fry, A. F., & Myerson, J.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
1994-01
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
33-36
ISSN
  • 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9280
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00610.x
OpenAlex
W2131954887
Cited by
1,165
References
19
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 90 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 61 · 2015: 65 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 62
FWCI
28.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis
Keywords
delay discounting, delayed rewards, lifespan development, self-control, age differences, children, young adults, older adults, monetary rewards

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