The DOI matches its Crossref record; 33 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Preference Reversals Due to Myopic Discounting of Delayed Reward
Abstract
A basic stationarity axiom of economic theory assumes stable preference between two deferred goods separated by a fixed time To test this assumption, we offered subjects choices between delayed rewards, while manipulating the delays to those rewards Preferences typically reversed with changes in delay, as predicted by hyperbolic discounting models of impulsiveness Of 36 subjects, 34 reversed preference from a larger, later reward to a smaller, earlier reward as the delays to both rewards decreased We conclude that the stationarity axiom is not appropriate in models of human choice
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“The hyperbolic shape of the discounting function also helps to explain the previously mentioned violations of the stationarity axiom in economics (Strotz, 1955); i.e., the tendency to prefer LLRs when SSRs are not readily available, and to reverse this preference when the SSR is immediately accessible.”
From Changing Delay Discounting and Impulsive Choice: Implications for Addictions, Prevention, and Human Health (2019) · cites this paper as Kirby & Herrnstein, 1995
Citations
Cites
Detection Theory: A User's Guide
Macmillan, N. A., & Creelman, C. D. (1991) · Cited by 5,415
A Theory of Rational Addiction
Becker, G. S., & Murphy, K. (1988) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/261558 · Cited by 3,906
Delay of gratification in children.
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2658056 · Cited by 3,397
Myopia and Inconsistency in Dynamic Utility Maximization
Strotz, R. H. (1955) · The Review of Economic Studies · doi:10.2307/2295722 · Cited by 2,834 · cited 1×
“Mischel & RoAccording to one stationarity axiom of standard economic theory, given two goods separated by a fixed time but both in the future, relative preference between those goods is unaffected by how far in the future they may be (Fishburn & Rubinstein, 1982; Koopmans, 1960; Prelec, 1989; Strotz, 1955).”
BackgroundMyopia and Inconsistency in Dynamic Utility Maximization
Strotz, R. H. (1973) · doi:10.1007/978-1-349-15492-0_10 · Cited by 2,803
An adjusting procedure for studying delayed reinforcement.
Commons, M. L., Mazur, J., Nevin, J. A., & Rachlin, H. C. (1987) · doi:10.4324/9781315825502-11 · Cited by 1,842
Stationary Ordinal Utility and Impatience
Koopmans, T. C. (1960) · Econometrica · doi:10.2307/1907722 · Cited by 1,568
Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification.
Mischel, W., Ebbesen, E. Β., & Zeiss, A. R. (1972) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0032198 · Cited by 1,364
COMMITMENT, CHOICE AND SELF‐CONTROL1
Rachlin, H., & Green, L. (1972) · Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior · doi:10.1901/jeab.1972.17-15 · Cited by 1,204
Research on self-control: An integrating framework
Logue, A. W. (1988) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00053978 · Cited by 792
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Ainslie G., 1992, Choice over time, 177
- Green L., 1981, Behaviour Analysis Letters, 1, 43
- Prelec D., 1989, Decreasing impatience. Definition and consequences
- 10.1037/0022-3514.57.2.358 · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 401–500 of 587
The economic psychology of the stock market
Wärneryd, K. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511490118.003 · Cited by 3
Pareto criterion and long-term perspective criterion under myopic discounting
Kang, M., & Wang, L. (2019) · DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) · Cited by 3
Lay perceptions of government economic activity
Kemp, S. P. T. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511490118.011 · Cited by 3
Scholten, M., & Read, D. (2010) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1680283 · Cited by 2
Puaschunder, J. M. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2930824 · Cited by 3
Impatience, Anticipatory Feelings and Uncertainty: A Dynamic Experiment on Time PreferencesPreprint
Casari, M., & Dragone, D. (2011) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1904880 · Cited by 4
Predicting the Discount Rate of Multiple Future PayoutsPreprint
Baucells, M., & Cillo, A. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3575208 · Cited by 3
Impatience, Anticipatory Feelings and Uncertainty: A Dynamic Experiment on Time PreferencesPreprint
Casari, M., & Dragone, D. (2010) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1729635 · Cited by 3
Dynamic Pricing When Customers Have Time-Inconsistent PreferencesPreprint
Gao, X., Chen, X., & Chen, Y. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3968335 · Cited by 3
van Baal, S. T., Walasek, L., Verdejo‐García, A., & Hohwy, J. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/vtx8y · Cited by 3
Fan, Z., Zhang, X., Shen, Y., & Dai, J. (2025) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/jdm.2025.10004 · Cited by 2
Is hyperbolic discounting really evidence of irrational behavior?
Horvath, P. A., & Sinha, A. K. (2013) · Quantitative Finance · doi:10.1080/14697688.2012.746790 · Cited by 2
Subjective Hazard Rates Rationalize "Irrational" Temporal Preferences
Luhmann, C. C., & Bixter, M. T. (2014) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · doi:10.13140/2.1.1706.3046 · Cited by 2
Lieber den Spatz in der Hand als die Taube auf dem Dach
Maertins, M. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-50381-2_18 · Cited by 1
PREFERENCIA TEMPORAL: EL ENFOQUE DE LA ESCUELA AUSTRIACA Y UN DEBATE SOBRE EL DESCUENTO HIPERBÓLICO
MACEDO, M. D. (2022) · REVISTA PROCESOS DE MERCADO · doi:10.52195/pm.v18i2.768 · Cited by 2
Andersen, T. M. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198953029.001.0001 · Cited by 3
Influences on financial decision making among the rural poor in Bangladesh
Jackson, L. R. (2010) · Cited by 2
An exploratory study of a real-time choice procedure
Furrebøe, E. F., Holth, P., & Sandaker, I. (2019) · European Journal of Behavior Analysis · doi:10.1080/15021149.2019.1575033 · Cited by 2
Discounting and ideas of intergenerational equity and sustainability
Rybicki, W. (2012) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.5277/ord120104 · Cited by 2
Novel Developments in Cognitive fMRI
Huettel, S. A. (2015) · Biological magnetic resonance · doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-7591-1_19 · Cited by 2
Ainslie, G. W. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511814273.010 · Cited by 2
The personal wealth importance to the intertemporal choice
do Nascimento, J. C. (2020) · Physica A Statistical Mechanics and its Applications · doi:10.1016/j.physa.2020.125559 · Cited by 2
Financial Development and Language Structures
Caskey, G. W., & Dutta, N. (2022) · Economies · doi:10.3390/economies10120313 · Cited by 3
Discounting of Delayed and Probabilistic Rewards by Women with and without Binge Eating Disorder
Manwaring, J. L. (2009) · Open Scholarship Institutional Repository (Washington University in St. Louis) · doi:10.7936/k7j964gh · Cited by 2
Sustainable Decision-Making: Non-Monetary Incentives for Pro-Social Behavior in the Energy SectorPreprint
Rosenkranz, S., Muehlfeld, K. S., van der Laan, G., Weitzel, U., van der Donk, J., Ivanova, H., van Kesteren, E., Ottink, M., & van der Spek, H. (2013) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 2
Delay Discounting and Alcohol Abusers: More Impatient Even When Not Impulsive?Preprint
Lemenze, C., & Murray, M. P. (2013) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2372634 · Cited by 2
An Explanation of Hyperbolic Marginal Utility from MoneyPreprint
Arad, N. (2000) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 2
Optimal Redistributive Pensions with Temptation and Costly Self-ControlPreprint
St-Amant, P.-A. B., & Garon, J. (2013) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.274636 · Cited by 2
Range Utility Theory for Uncertain Cash-flowsPreprint
Baucells, M., Lewandowski, M., & Kontek, K. (2019) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3466617 · Cited by 1
Kang, M. S., Wolf, D. H., Kazinka, R., Lee, S., Ruparel, K., Elliott, M. A., Xu, A., Cieslak, M., Prettyman, G., Satterthwaite, T. D., et al. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.12.01.407197 · Cited by 2
Elstad, E. (2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_102 · Cited by 2
Breuer, W., & Soypak, C. K. (2012) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2176784 · Cited by 2
Levine, E. E., Wallace, L., Kim, Y., & Perry, S. (2023) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/5n7h4 · Cited by 2
The value of initiating a pursuit in temporal decision-makingPreprint
Sutlief, E., Walters, C., Marton, T. M., & Shuler, M. G. H. (2024) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.99957 · Cited by 2
Research on intertemporal choice: From single dated outcomes to multiple dated outcomes
Jiang, C., Kai-Jie, X., & He, Q. (2018) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2018.00922 · Cited by 1
Reed, D. D., Niileksela, C. R., & Kaplan, B. A. (2022) · Revista Brasileira de Terapia Comportamental e Cognitiva · doi:10.31505/rbtcc.v23i1.1568 · Cited by 2
Henkel, R. (2020) · Studies in Microeconomics · doi:10.1177/2321022220930978 · Cited by 1
Markov Decision Processes with Time-Varying Geometric Discounting
Gan, J., Hennes, A., Majumdar, R., Mandal, D., & Radanović, G. (2023) · Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1609/aaai.v37i10.26413 · Cited by 1
Long, J., Zeng, S., Gupta, B. B., Zhang, J., & Nedjah, N. (2024) · Journal of Innovation & Knowledge · doi:10.1016/j.jik.2023.100459 · Cited by 1
The value of initiating a pursuit in temporal decision-making
Sutlief, E., Walters, C., Marton, T. M., & Shuler, M. G. H. (2024) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.99957.3 · Cited by 3
Tornquist, M., Chiappe, D. L., & Herrmann, E. (2025) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-025-10154-w · Cited by 2
Effect of a delay discounting intervention on soft drink and alcohol demand
Kulbida, M., Kemps, E., & Tiggemann, M. (2025) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108296 · Cited by 1
Andersen, T. M. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198953029.003.0007 · Cited by 1
Wu, J., Ye, Y., Wang, C., & Feng, G. (2026) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2026.115272 · Cited by 1
Liang, Y., Wang, Q.-H., Wei, Z., & Liu, H. (2026) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909261458628 · Cited by 1
Antecedents and Consequences of AI Misuse Among University Students: An Empirical Investigation
Zhang, H., & Chen, Y. (2026) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci16071087 · Cited by 1
Cullis, J., & Jones, P. R. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511490118.012 · Cited by 2
Rzecz o dyskontowaniu odroczonych wypłat
Zielonka, P., Sawicki, P., & Weron, R. (2009) · Decyzje · Cited by 1
Behavioral Economics: Where Is It Heading?
Osman, M. (2015) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2015.69109 · Cited by 2
Temporal Discounting: A comparison of adjusting-amount and adjusting-delay procedures
Holt, D. D. (2009) · Open Scholarship Institutional Repository (Washington University in St. Louis) · doi:10.7936/k7xg9p8q · Cited by 1
Modelowanie preferencji a zagadnienia zrównoważonego (trwałego) rozwoju
Rybicki, W. (2014) · Studia Ekonomiczne / Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Katowicach · Cited by 1
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO MODELING EVACUATION BEHAVIOR: HYPERBOLIC DISCOUNTING AND PEER EFFECTS
Sudipta Sarangi, B., & Krief, J. M. (2011) · Cited by 1
Normative Weighing and Legal Guidance of Conduct
Gur, N. (2012) · Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence · doi:10.1017/s0841820900005853 · Cited by 1
Irrational Phenomena in Temporal Decision-making
Zhou-Lan, W., Guan, Y., Jin-Hong, Y., & Yang, R. (2013) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2012.00883 · Cited by 1
Stock‐Homburg, R., & Groß, M. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-26081-1_15 · Cited by 1
Pfister, H. R., Jungermann, H., & Fischer, K. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-53038-2_3 · Cited by 1
Reward Processing in Motivational and Affective Disorders
Skandali, N. (2016) · Frontiers research topics · doi:10.3389/978-2-88919-986-0 · Cited by 1
Assessment of intertemporal preferences in type-2 diabetes patients and smokers
Vázquez-Lira, R., & Torres, A. (2017) · International journal of psychological research · doi:10.21500/20112084.2534 · Cited by 1
An Extended Survey on Time-Inconsistency and Its Applications
Yılmaz, M. (2018) · Bogazici Journal · doi:10.21773/boun.32.1.4 · Cited by 1
Do Time Preferences Matter in Intertemporal Consumption and Portfolio Decisions?
Chen, S., Xiang, S., & He, H. (2019) · The B E Journal of Theoretical Economics · doi:10.1515/bejte-2017-0122 · Cited by 1
Monetary Policy When Preferences Are Quasi-Hyperbolic
Dennis, R., & Kirsanov, O. (2020) · Journal of money credit and banking · doi:10.1111/jmcb.13250 · Cited by 1
PROCRASTINATION AND FUTURE DISCOUNTING
Lkayali, H. D. Y., Can, S., & Mutlu, H. (2014) · Journal of International Social Research · Cited by 1
Escolha intertemporal: Enquadramento, sinal e diferimento das suas consequências
de Carvalho, P. L. M., Scholten, M., Pimentel, D., Gonçalves, G., & Correia, M. F. (2012) · Análise Psicológica · doi:10.14417/ap.564 · Cited by 1
Rambaud, S. C., Oller, I. M. P., & Martínez, M. D. C. V. (2019) · Studies of Applied Economics · doi:10.25115/eea.v37i2.2604 · Cited by 1
Puaschunder, J. M. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-54330-3_1 · Cited by 1
Multi-attribute heuristics and intertemporal choices
Herweg, F., & Weinschenk, P. (2022) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2022.05.019 · Cited by 1
Döring, T. F. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-38163-9_2 · Cited by 1
Onyango, T. K. O., & Aloka, P. J. O. (2023) · International Journal of Current Science Research and Review · doi:10.47191/ijcsrr/v6-i1-70
Grüne‐Yanoff, T. (2021) · Australasian Philosophical Review · doi:10.1080/24740500.2021.2112122 · Cited by 1
Neuroimaging of Economic Decision-Making
Malecek, N. J., & Schönberg, T. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397025-1.00262-1 · Cited by 2
UNDERSTANDING ANTICIPATORY TIME PERCEPTION IN CONSUMERS' TIME- RELATED DECISIONS
Kim, B. K. (2010) · ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) · Cited by 1
The economics, neurobiology and pharmacology of intertemporal choice in humans
Pine, A. (2011) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 1
Overcoming Overconfidence: Teamwork and Self-ControlPreprint
Fedyk, A. (2015) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2432221 · Cited by 4
Addiction, procrastination, and failure points in decision-making systems
Andreou, C. (2008) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x08004755 · Cited by 1
Theory and method in economics and psychology
Hilton, D. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511490118.002 · Cited by 2
The Psychology of Self-Control and Consumption-Saving Decisions: Cognitive Perspectives
Benhabib, J., & Bisin, A. (2002) · Cited by 1
Curto prazo versus longo prazo: o papel de esquemas de incentivo e estratégias de decisão
de Aguiar, A. B. (2016) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/t.12.2016.tde-03062016-095413 · Cited by 1
Framing employment research using behavioural science
Anderson, C. G. (2017) · Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling) · Cited by 1
Time ≠ Time ≠ Time: Mental Temporal AccountingPreprint
Puaschunder, J. M. (2019) · Social Science Research Network · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3375365
Self-Control, Discounting and Reward: Why Picoeconomics is EconomicsPreprint
Ross, D., Ainslie, G., & Hofmeyr, A. (2010) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1614026 · Cited by 5
Consume Now or Later? Time Inconsistency, Collective Choice and Revealed PreferencePreprint
Adams‐Prassl, A., Cherchye, L., Bram De Rock, Z., & Verriest, E. (2012) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2159130 · Cited by 1
and, V. G., & Chadee, M. (2022) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394266616.ch6 · Cited by 1
The value of initiating a pursuit in temporal decision-makingPreprint
Sutlief, E., Walters, C., Marton, T. M., & Shuler, M. G. H. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.99957.2 · Cited by 1
Short-Term Nicotine Abstinence and Decision Making
Searcy, G. D. (2011) · ScholarWorks - WMU (Western Michigan University) · Cited by 1
Examining the Relationships between Delay Discounting, Working Memory, and Fluid Intelligence
Acuff, R. E. (2012) · Cited by 1
Neurocognitive function among individuals with problematic social media use
Almog, I., Mama, Y., & Weinstein, A. M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1825888 · Cited by 1
Delayed Reward Discounting in Adolescents with Sexual Offense Convictions
de Morais, H. B. (2015)
O subiektywnych stopach dyskonta
Forlicz, M. (2011) · Rozprawy i Studia - Uniwersytet Szczeciński
Lewis, A. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511490118.001
Powiązanie subiektywnych stóp dyskonta z przewidywanymi stopami inflacji i oprocentowania
Forlicz, M. (2013) · Studia i Prace WNEiZ
Time and risk preferences : theoretical models for individual decision making
Pan, J. (2015) · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester)
Destefano, N. (2013) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/t.59.2013.tde-19112013-114151
Stałość preferencji w wyborze międzyokresowym
Forlicz, M. (2013) · Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Bankowej we Wrocławiu
Longitudinal Tests of Intertemporal Preference Reversals Due to Hyperbolic DiscountingPreprint
Read, D., Frederick, S., & Airoldi, M. (2008) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1287233
Value-Based decisions : situational influences and neural mechanisms
Woelbert, E. (2013) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20130529ew
Choice and Normative Preference
Noor, J. (2005)
Time preference and decision rules in a price search experiment
Houser, D. E., & Winter, J. (2000) · MADOC (University of Mannheim)
Discounting of Probabilistic Reinforcers by Pigeons
de Oliveira, L. (2014) · Open Scholarship Institutional Repository (Washington University in St. Louis) · doi:10.7936/k7pk0d99
Studies on Intertemporal Preferences with Applications to Health Economics
Attema, A. E. (2002) · RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Metadata
- Authors
- Kirby, K. N., & Herrnstein, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Williams College (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kirby, Kris N.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1995-03
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 83-89
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2135574561
- Cited by
- 591
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 6.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- preference reversal, hyperbolic discounting, delayed rewards, impulsivity, time preference, intertemporal choice, delay sensitivity
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review